The Infinity Effect
by creamofwheat2311
Summary: After discovering a Precursor artifact, the UNSC Infinity and the Sangheili Shadow of Intent are transported to a universe unlike anything they have ever seen, and forced into a war against a foe they never could have imagined: the Reapers. Alliances are founded, friendships are formed, and decisions are made that will change this galaxy forever. Post Halo 4, Pre ME3 by a week. AU
1. Chapter 1: Gateway

**Authors Note: So this is my first attempt at a Halo/Mass Effect crossover, and this chapter is more a pilot chapter than anything else, I just want to see how it will be received. This story takes place after Halo 4, but before Mass Effect 3 by about a week. **

**That being said, there are some changes that I have made, mainly in the Halo universe. Firstly, Noble Team, as well as Cortana, are both alive. I will explain this later in the story.**

**Keep in mind that this story is Alternate Universe, and I have semi-creative rights. I'm not going to change anything fundamental, but there will be some minor changes and addition.**

**Special thanks to my beta JonHarper, who has been with me throughout most of Halo: New Horizons, and I am glad to say will be accompanying me throughout this story as well.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but all original content is mine.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter One: Gateway**

**UNSC **_**Infinity, **_**Deep Space**

**March 1****st****, 2560**

With a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a datapad in the other, Admiral Thomas Lasky walked easily onto the bridge. The two Marine bridge guards saluted, and Lasky nodded at them as the bridge doors slid open at his approach.

As he stepped past the threshold, the familiar sounds of the _Infinity_'s command and control center drifted into his ears. Presses on holographic keyboards, the crackle of comm channels, and quiet conversation. His eyes took comfort in the sight of walls bordered by ops terminals and those who worked them, the central holotables, and the forward viewport, which gave a clear view into the inky blackness of space. This was his element, and where he had felt most at home for several years.

Lasky's eyes met with Sergeant Julius, the leader of the bridge guard. "Admiral on deck!" he acknowledged, snapping to attention and raising a crisp salute while the rest of the Bridge officers did the same. The Admiral touched his datapad to his temple and gave an easy smile. "As you were."

He settled into his command chair and took a swig of his coffee. Bland and bitter, but that couldn't be helped. What did matter though, was that the energy from the caffeine started having immediate effect. Setting the drink down on an armrest, Lasky began to thumb through his datapad, checking for any important messages.

Not finding any, the Admiral tapped in a few commands and brought up his guilty pleasure: the weekly War Games results between the _Infinity's_ Spartan-IV teams. The recent wargame competitions had been the brain child of the Master Chief and the culmination of over 5 months of intense training courtesy of both Blue and Noble Teams. There had been a noticeable improvement in the performance of the Teams during their training, so much so that the Chief had rated the S-IV teams' performance as 'passing.' High praise indeed coming from _the_ Master Chief. Nevertheless, a strong spirit of competition had risen amongst the teams as a result, and Commander Carter had organized a series of wargames to find out which team really was the best of the best.

Lasky checked his chrono out of the corner of his eye, Monday, 2:00 a.m. Not that night and day mattered that much on a warship, as you aligned yourself around your shift, but it did mean that all of the wins and losses would have been reported.

Scrolling through the data, Lasky raised his eyebrows upon seeing that Crimson and Majestic Teams, two of the top ranked S-IV squads on the ship, had fought each other to a draw for the top spot. Surprising, considering that Crimson had a long history of victory over Majestic, but that gap had been slowly closing over the past five months. Any more thoughts he had on that line were interrupted when he saw that Castle team had thoughtfully trounced Lancer team in an incredible upset in the third round.

Lasky scowled, he had bet Sergeant Julius a bottle of scotch on a Lancer victory. He looked over to the Sergeants post, only to see a knowing grin plastered on his face. Lasky waved a hand in his general direction, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He took another sip of coffee, letting the sounds and conversations throughout the bridge wash over him.

"... I still don't understand why our shore leave had to be postponed for a couple of squidheads."

"A couple? I wouldn't count an entire Assault Carrier as 'a couple,' Hernandez."

"Whatever, Lewis. But all I'm saying is that right now, I could be relaxing on a beach in the Dominican, a beer in one hand and a girl in the other. But instead, I'm stuck in the middle of space waiting for _his majesty the Arbiter_."

"You forget Hernandez, the Arbiter played as much as a role in saving the galaxy from the flood as Master Chief did."

"Oh sure. But where was he when the Didact attacked Earth? Too busy 'repopulating' on Sanghelios if ya know what I mean."

Lasky took that moment to interrupt. "While we were fighting the Didact, the Arbiter was up to his neck trying to protect Sanghelios from a Loyalist fleet. There was nothing he could have done to help us, and we would have done the same if we were in his position. I understand you still have some strong feelings towards the Sangheili Lieutenant Hernandez, but you have to remember that we are allies."

"Sorry Admiral, you're right," was the response of the _Infinity_'s Chief Weapons officer.

Lieutenant Lewis, the comms officer, swiveled in her chair so that she was facing Lasky. "This is still a little strange sir. We've heard almost nothing from the Sangheili for two years, then their leader rings up Highcom on an encrypted channel and asks to meet in the middle of nowhere?"

"You're right lieutenant, there is something off about it. But Thel is a friend, and I am sure that whatever he wants to discuss, especially with this sort of secrecy, has to be important."

The unusual situation had gotten Lasky thinking. It had been eight years since the end of the Human-Covenant war, and three since the Master Chief had defeated the Didact. During that time, the alliance that had been brokered between Humanity and the Sangheili by the Arbiter had remained... cordial.

Hostilities had immediately ceased between the two factions, but after almost thirty years of brutal war each side was still more than a little wary of the other. Sure, there had been a few exchanges of knowledge, minor technologies had been swapped from warships on both sides, and there was a tentative trade agreement.

However, the general consensus among the human colonies was that humanity was far better off trying to rebuild the infrastructure and fortify the defenses of the planets that they still possessed, as well as continue the almost frantic search for Forerunner technology. Involving themselves in the happenstances of their former enemy was considered to be unwarranted, and a drain of their already limited resources.

The Sangheili have echoed this response, too caught up in trying to secure their own worlds and fleets while at the same time being embroiled in a civil war with the remnants of the Covenant Loyalists, those still loyal to Jul M'Dama and the Storm.

And recent Storm activity on the border of the outer colonies had been giving HIGHCOM some sleepless nights. Orders had been dispatched to_ Infinity_ to link up with Task Force _Yorktown_ after a short shore leave, and then investigate the Storm sightings. They _Infinity _had been loaded up before thier patrol for a long-term deployment, and Lasky had been told to deal with any Loyalists he encountered in any way he saw fit. The Seperatist Sangheili leadership had been informed of the UNSC's intentions so as not to make them…skittish about a UNSC battlegroup operating close to their territory.

Needless to say, both sides had been far too focused in their own dealings to pay much attention to the other, so when the leader of the Separatist Sangheili had contacted the UNSC asking for a meeting in the middle of deep space, more than a few eyebrows had been raised. Especially on the verge of _Infinity_ linking up with Battle-group _Yorktown_.

"But what if it isn't the _Shadow of Intent _coming to meet us? What if this is some loyalist trap? I love popping Covie ships as much as the next weapons officer Admiral, but we're only one ship," questioned Hernandez.

"That's been taken into account, and is why our shields are up and slipspace drives charged. Isn't that right Roland?"

On the central holotable, the small, orange tinted figure of a human male dressed in the heavy fur coats and pullover hat of a World War Two bomber pilot materialized into view.

"Aye, aye Admiral, shields peaking at one hundred percent and we're ready to jump at your word," relayed the _Infinity's_ resident Artificial Intelligence.

Lasky nodded. "Excellent. How much longer until the _Shadow of Intent _arrives?"

"Shouldn't be too much longer, we pinged their slipspace signature when they were ten minutes away, and that was three minutes ago," replied Roland.

"Very well," said Lasky, "keep me posted."

The remaining minutes passed quickly and in relative silence, with the bridge crew getting ready for their guest's arrival.

Lasky's eyes were diverted away from his datapad from Roland's announcement: "Admiral, slipspace portal opening up a few thousand kilometers off of our bow. Size and readings typical with that of a CAS-class Assault Carrier."

Even from this distance, Lasky could see the purple-black of the slipspace portal distorting the space around it, silhouetted against the stars.

Out of the portal smoothly emerged a large, gleaming, silver warship with a bulbous, whale-like front, a sleek silhouette, and a unique hooked bow section. The vessel, clearly a warship, radiated gracefulness, but Lasky knew that hidden beneath the curved lines and sleek hull was enough firepower to take on a small fleet.

"Admiral, sensor readings identify the ship as the _Shadow of Intent_. They're holding steady at their current position and their shields are up, but their weapons are cold like ours." he heard from Roland.

"Sir, the Arbiter has requested permission to take a Phantom over and dock," said Lewis.

"Granted. Direct his dropship to the bridge hangar bay," replied Lasky. "Tell him that I'll be there to greet him in person."

Lewis nodded, and with that Lasky stood up out of his chair and made for the hallways.

Stepping out of the bridge, Lasky saw a gathering of six marines in the corridor, along with a single Spartan-IV adorned in pale-white MJOLNIR Gen-II power armor. As Lasky approached the group, the marines fell in formation behind him, and the Spartan took step besides him.

"Commander Palmer," addressed Lasky.

"Admiral," replied the commander Alpha Company, one of the _Infinity_'s three Spartan-IV companies, and his close friend.

Lasky glanced up at Palmer, a few inches taller than he was in her armor, and saw her short brunette ponytail bounce as her eyes met his.

"Permission to be honest sir?" asked Palmer.

Lasky smirked at the formality. The two had known each other long enough that when they were alone, they barely bothered with such formalities. "Granted," he answered.

"I'm not so sure how I feel about letting the leader of the Elites onto the _Infinity_ sir." she said.

Lasky nodded in understanding. When first unveiled, the _Infinity_ had been advertised as the peak of human achievement up to that point. While they weren't wrong, the _Infinity_ was indeed the most powerful and technologically advanced ship humans had ever built, Fleetcom certainly did its best to keep it away from prying eyes, especially after Requiem. For the past couple of years, Lasky's ship had been relegated to morale-boosting tours, naval demonstrations and exercises, patrols, and numerous minor counter-insurgency actions across UNSC space.

"It's alright Sara, the Arbiter's just here to talk."

Palmer relaxed at the establishment of first names. "I know that Tom, what worries me is what exactly he's here to talk about. It's been nearly two years since we've heard anything from the Sangheili leadership, and all of this time we've assumed that silence was good."

"I understand your concern Palmer, those facts have not been lost on me."

"Also, there's a rumor going around on the ship that the Elites might have found a Forerunner artifact, maybe another Halo. I mean, they never told us that they _wouldn't_ look for Forerunner tech. Admiral, what if they found the Flood again, and they're being slaughtered and are coming to us out of desperation?"

"The Flood is gone, destroyed with the Ark." Lasky said coldly. Even so, he felt shivers run down his spine. Every human had seen the vids, whether it be from Earth, or if they had the right security clearnace like him, footage from the Halo arrays. If there was one thing that Lasky hoped he would never see in person, it was the Flood. Thankfully his concern was widely shared, resulting in extremely strict procedures involving the excavation and analysis process whenever Forerunner tech was discovered.

They rounded a corner, the door to the bridge hangar in sight toward the end of the corridor.

"Still sir, I can't shake this funny feeling I have in my gut. I mean we're overstocked for a long term deployment and every branch has gotten quite a bit of new toys."

Lasky nodded, thinking back to the reports his quartermasters had sent him. UNSC R&D had indeed given the _Infinity_ an unusual amount of new tech. Most weren't anything major, a few upgrades to ammunition or weapons or computer systems, but there were a few things that had people excited. Word on the ship was that the ODST's were giggling like school girls at some new armor they got. He reminded himself to ask Captain Dare about that when he got a chance.

Palmer frowned, "Think this sudden face to face with the Elites has anything to do with our pending redeployment?"

"Well we're about to find out. Don't come across as _too _threatening, but stay on your guard," said Lasky, to which Palmer just nodded, detaching her helmet from her belt sliding it over her head.

The eight figures entered the small hangar, dominated on one side by the angular hull of a Pelican dropship, and the other by the rounded greens of a Covenant Phantom.

Standing tall and proud just in front of the Phantom was the Arbiter himself. Lasky strode towards him, eying the intricate engravings adorning his dull gray armor. He then noted the energy sword and plasma rifle attached to his hips. Two Sangheili dressed in silver-white armor flanked the Arbiter, similarly armed, and Lasky recognized them as Sangheili Spec-Ops warriors.

Lasky was not intimidated, as he was confident in the ability of Palmer and the Marines to keep him safe. If worst came to worst, he had the pistol on his right hip, and ever since Requiem, UNSC Naval BDU's have been upgraded with armor plating in vital areas. Not enough to stop a direct blow from an Energy Sword, but enough to protect him from a glancing plasma shot.

The UNSC Admiral stayed on his course, towards the alien much larger than himself.

As Lasky approached, the Arbiter bowed his head in a sign of respect and clutched his right arm across his chest.

"Admiral Lasky. I am deeply grateful that you have granted me this audience," the Sangheili said in his deep, baritone voice.

"Of course Arbiter. Welcome to the _Infinity_, it's an honor to have you aboard. Shall we go to the conference room?" answered Lasky, his voice calm and confident.

The Arbiter nodded, then turned to his two guards and raised a hand, signaling them to stay with the Phantom.

Lasky looked at Palmer, and she turned to the Marines, telling them through their helmet radios to stay within the hangar as well. She then turned back to Lasky and nodded.

Lasky gestured towards the Arbiter, and the two began their walk to the bridge conference room in silence, Palmer falling in a respectable distance behind.

When they reached their destination Lasky told Palmer to stand guard outside the door.

Lasky entered, and saw the Elite pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, head stooped. "I trust that there are not any outside ears listening in Admiral."

The UNSC officer peered towards the ceiling. "Roland, that means you. That's an order."

Lasky was met by silence but he knew the willful AI would follow his orders. Cortana was another matter entirely. Thankfully she wasn't in the ships systems at the moment. He nodded towards the Arbiter.

"I'll get right to it Admiral." the Sangheili began, stopping his movement and facing Lasky. "We've discovered something, and we need your help."

Lasky furrowed his eyebrows. "Discovered what?"

The Arbiter reached into a pouch in his armor and withdrew a flat disk, setting it on the central table. From the disk sprang a holograph of what looked like nothing more than a small round sphere. A set of coordinates that Lasky didn't recognize was floating off to the side.

Lasky was puzzled. "What is it?"

"We don't know." answered the Arbiter. "On her patrol route, one of our cruisers, the _Ancestral Light_, was picking up some unusual sensor readings and diverted to investigate. The ship managed to transmit this picture just before we lost all contact. Another cruiser, the _Divine Sustenance_, was also sent, but has not reported in since."

"You've heard nothing?" asked Lasky, still looking at the blurry sphere.

"No Admiral, nothing. The Sangheili Council had dismissed the discovery as unimportant and are unwilling to send more ships to ascertain the objects nature, especially after the supposed loss of two cruisers. They said that they _didn't__ want to weaken our defenses,_ even though there has been no sign of the Loyalists in three months. Technically, I am not even supposed to be here, the _Shadow of Intent_ is currently supposed to be conducting long range reconnaissance."

The Arbiter's mandibles pressed together in what Lasky assumed was the equivalent to pursing ones lips, and his tone grew sorrowful. "I knew the Shipmaster of the _Ancestral Light_, he was a good friend. He and his ship have stood by my side for many years, and now all that remains of him is this," he said, waving at the holographic sphere.

"I want to know what happened to my Sangheili Admiral, and I want to know what caused their disappearance. This object... What few scientists we have were unable to determine what it was or its purpose, based on the extremely limited information we have."

"So that is why I am here. I need your help Admiral, humanity's help. I know that you have entire departments within your navy dedicated to the study and research of such artifacts. We would as well, but we lack both the knowledge and the personnel to do so."

Lasky put a hand to his chin. "So what exactly are you asking of the _Infinity_? To accompany you to this artifact? Why not just go yourself, the _Shadow of Intent_ is more than a powerful enough ship."

The Arbiter paused. "... I will admit Admiral, I am a little apprehensive about going alone, as well as the crew. Yet, when we asked for help we were not expecting a response at all from the humans, let alone sending their most powerful warships."

"Humanity and the Separatist Covenant are allies Arbiter, and we do our best to uphold that alliance," said Lasky as convincingly as he could. "But I have to be practical here, what's in it for us?"

The Arbiter couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "I knew that question would come up sooner or later. It appears that is one area where humanity and Sangheili are the same, at least in these times..."

The Elite's expression became more serious. "Admiral, all I want is to find out what happened to my crews. Anything involving the artifact we will leave to you: study, research, and anything else. I just ask that whatever information you may recover from it not be used to bring harm to the Sangheili."

Lasky stood there, then nodded slightly. "Alright. I'll have to talk to Admiral Hood, but I don't see why he wouldn't agree, as word is you two are good friends."

The Arbiter nodded. "Yes... Lord Hood is an honorable man, and has earned the respect of many Sangheili, including myself. In fact – "

"Admiral, urgent message from Fleetcom coming through, it's Admiral Hood," interrupted Roland.

Lasky raised his eyebrows. "Admiral Hood? How urgent?"

"Delta-classification sir."

Lasky paled. Delta level classification? Shit. This was either extremely bad or extremely good. The Arbiter noticed the sudden change in Lasky's mood, and his mandibles opened and closed in an unconscious show of confusion.

"Arbiter... If you'll excuse me for a moment," said Lasky curtly, stepping out of the conference room. He hurried to his private office and activated the video terminal, straightening his BDU's as he did so.

Within seconds, the chiseled face of Fleet Admiral Sir Terrance Hood replaced the black and gray static.

"Sir!" said Lasky saluting, which Hood promptly returned.

"I'll cut to the chase Admiral. Scientists deciphering a Forerunner archive at ONI Research Facility Trevelyan have found something. This decryption is incomplete, but from what we have managed to uncover is that the archive was recorded by the Librarian during the waning stages of the Flood War, and it mentions the discovery of an object believed to be of Precursor origin. The archive states that she had to abandon study the object due to the Flood, but our scientists have managed to extrapolate modern coordinates using Forerunner star charts included in the archive. The location has been sent to your ships A.I."

Lasky pursed his lips. This was a little too coincidental for his likes.

"Admiral Lasky, these are the same coordinated of the object the Arbiter wished to investigate," he heard a disembodied Roland say.

"Roland, I thought I ordered you to stay out of the conference room?" Lasky asked, aggravated.

"I did sir, but I may or may not have scanned the Arbiters holo device and its contents when he landed."

"Damn, have the Elites beat us to it? This could make things more... complicated," said Hood, putting a hand to his chin.

"Not necessarily sir," replied Lasky, "the Arbiter and the Sangheili do not know of the purpose or origin of the object. All they _do_ know is that they lost two of their cruisers trying to investigate it, and that the Sangheili Council have decided not to look into it further at the moment. All the Arbiter wants is to find out what happened to his crews, he said that he would let us have full 'custody' of the object."

"Well, I doubt that he knew this object could likely be Precursor either," chimed in Roland.

"Hmmmm..." mumbled Hood. "Alright. We contacted you because you are the closest UNSC ship to the object. Task Force _Yorktown_ has just finished their replenishment operations, they'll be shipping out within the hour. I'm diverting them to rendezvous with you at the coordinates of this construct rather than at Novus, but it will be a couple of days until they get there."

"I've already plotted a course Admiral Lasky, it will take just under four hours to get there," informed Roland.

"Good," said Hood. "Lasky, this is what you're going to do. Go to the coordinates, help the Arbiter find out what happened to his crews if you can, and try to get him to leave as soon as possible. Do **not** mention the circumstances surrounding our discovery of the object. In fact, don't mention we know about it at all. Run some preliminary tests, but stay cautious until the _Yorktown_ science team arrives in two days. A lot of people were foaming at the mouth at the uttering of the word 'Precursor,' and both you and I know the implications of letting it fall into any hands that are not ours."

"Yes Admiral." acknowledged Lasky.

"You know what to do Lasky. Hood out."

With that the connection was cut, and Lasky took a deep breath. He exited his office, walking quickly back to the conference room where he had left the Arbiter.

As he entered the Sangheili looked up at him and asked, "Is everything alright Admiral?"

Lasky did nothing but nod, trying his best to show no emotion. "The situation is under control. Now, let's go find out what happened to your crews."

* * *

**UNSC **_**Infinity**_

"What am I looking at, Roland?"

The _Infinity _and _Shadow of Intent_ were holding at the edge of maximum sensor range, and had just arrived in-system.

"I'm not sure Admiral, but it sure as hell is giving off some crazy readings. See for yourself."

Lasky's datapad lit up, and the UNSC Admiral scrolled through the data. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The 'object' in question was a rounded sphere of unknown composition the size of the basketball. That wasn't what was unusual, but the fact that it was giving off a gravitational field three times larger than Sol _was_. Lasky didn't even begin to try to think of how dense the thing was.

"Are these readings accurate Roland? Are you sure that something isn't wrong with the sensors?" Lasky asked.

"No Admiral, I've checked the data hundreds of thousands of times. It's correct," replied the A.I.

The sensors also showed the sheared remains of two Covenant Cruisers orbiting the object.

"They probably jumped in too close and were caught in the gravity well, unable to escape until they were crushed," hypothesized Hernandez.

"Well, at least we know what happened to the Arbiter's ships." muttered Lasky.

"Sir, comm coming through from the _Shadow of Intent_." revealed Lewis.

"Put it through," ordered Lasky.

The distinct voice of the Arbiter resonated throughout the bridge. _"Admiral Lasky, we've found what we've come here for. At least we have closure now. We will be returning to our original assignment soon, this object is all yours."_

The link closed, but Lasky noticed that he got a message on his datapad. It was from the Arbiter, most likely relayed through Roland.

It read: _Be careful Admiral with this object,_ _there is something about this that doesn't feel... normal_.

Lasky put the datapad down and slowly walked over to the forward viewport. Even though he couldn't see the object at this distance, it certainly felt like he could _feel_ it. It made him uneasy, and a strange gnawing sensation formed near the back of his head.

"I... I don't like this. Helm, prep the slipspace generators, let's back away to a farther dista – "

"Woah... Admiral? The sensor readings just spiked off the charts!" said Lewis.

In a moment that reminded Lasky of the _Infinity_ being scanned by the Didact on Requiem, a minor shockwave shook its way through the ship, vibrating the chairs and terminals and causing Lasky to grit his teeth.

"What was that - Roland?" asked the Admiral.

"I don't know sir, some kind of energy pulse... It's not like anything I've ever seen. I recommend relocating the _Infinity_ to a greater distance."

"Agreed, prepare the ship for slipspace transi– "

Time seemed to pause for Lasky, as he suddenly felt a gut-wrenching falling sensation. The bridge of the _Infinity_ dissipated around him.

He found himself in... Well, he didn't know where he was. He was standing, but on what, he had no idea. His entire world was a stark, blinding white light that seemed to penetrate every molecule of air. Lasky squinted, he tried shielding his eyes with his hand, yet still the light was there. He closed his eyes, yet instead of the cooling black of the back of his eyelids, the white still prevailed. He began to get dizzy and stumbled, yet he did not fall.

"Where am I?" he asked, yet his mouth didn't move, his words only echoing in his head.

Then, a voice spoke. Lasky didn't so much hear it as he did _feel_ it, unknown vibrations rumbling through his body, somehow forming words in his mind.

"_Hello Thomas Lasky."_

Lasky was startled at the sudden voice, yet at the same time calmed, as if he had heard it before. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"_I know all of your names. Were it not for my actions, your species, as well as every other in this galaxy, would have perished to the Flood long ago. It is my geas that has guided your path to ascend to the Mantle. "_

If Lasky could move his jaw it would have dropped. "Librarian?"

"_Yes and no. The Librarian, the true Librarian, died with the firing of the Halo Arrays long ago. I am but a ghost of her former self, a shell with only a single purpose."_

"What purpose would that be?"

"_To relay the circumstances and purpose of this object."_

"So you are a recording of the Librarian. Like the one on Requiem. Why am I here? What is happening?" Lasky asked. He has so many questions that he couldn't help but barrage this copy of the Librarian.

"_Yes, we can be compared to the copy on into Requiem. But in order to understand why you are here, you first must understand why _I _am here. In the waning stages of the Flood-Forerunner war, while the Librarian was collecting species for the Index, she came across this object."_

"What is it?"

"_The Librarian's studies determined that it was not of our building. It was determined to be... Precursor. The Librarian knew that she couldn't reveal to anyone else, and she frantically tried to learn everything she could about it. There was so much left unknown, its composition, its age, among other things. But what she _did_ manage to uncover was its purpose."_

Lasky felt that his heart stopped in anticipation.

"_This object is a Gateway. A door waiting to be opened. A portal, you might say."_

"A portal to where?"

"_The Librarian did not know. She couldn't determine that based on the information she could decode. But she _did _know that wherever it led, it wasn't here. You have to understand. The Forerunners were getting desperate to find a way to continue their own existence. The Librarian, however, was not concerned with such petty things as her own survival. It was her responsibility to ensure the survival of species that did not deserve the horrors of the Flood that we brought upon ourselves. And that was not a responsibility she took lightly."_

"So what did she do? Did she use this 'Gateway'?"

"_Yes. The Librarian utilized every resource, explored every option, took every step that she could to ensure the repopulation of the galaxy after the firing of the Halo Arrays. While her main focus was preserving species through the Ark, the Halo Arrays, and her seedships, she did not discount this... unique opportunity. She sent a seedship populated solely with humans through this Gateway, with automated processes to find a habitable planet and distribute its cargo. However, these humans were special. They were not implanted with the geas, that which guides all species."_

Lasky was puzzled. "Why such the emphasis on Humanity?"

"_Though most Forerunners did not want to acknowledge it, we were not the ones destined to inherit the Mantle. The Librarian, however, was fully aware of this. She remembered the greatness that Humanity had achieved before the Forerunners cast them down back into darkness, and knew that you were destined for the responsibility that we could not be trusted with. She had thought, no, she had _known_, that Humanity was the species that would take the Mantle of Responsibility. That is why she sent Humanity alone through the Gateway."_

Lasky was still trying to wrap his head around everything. "So let me get this straight... The Librarian sent some humans through this Precursor Gateway in a hope that a habitable planet would be at the other end. How did you know it would work? How did you know that this Gateway didn't lead to the middle of a star or a blackhole, or nothingness?"

"_She didn't. There were so many unknown variables that she just didn't have the time to take into account. The Librarian acted with the full knowledge that this plan had such an astronomically small chance of success. In fact, she wasn't even certain that this Gateway was indeed a transportation device of some kind. That did not stop her though._

"Well, did it work?"

"_Unknown. The seedship did disappear upon activation of the object, but where it went cannot be determined."_

Lasky would have scratched his head if he could. "Explain something to me, how are you here?"

"_The Librarian found a way to integrate a copy of herself into this object. How she did so... I am not sure. That data has been corrupted over time. The only reason I am here is to explain the circumstances surrounding this object, in case some other species came along. You are the first."_

"You certainly did a good job of 'explaining' this object to those two Sangheili Cruisers."

"_That could not be helped. The Sangheili vessels jumped much too close to the objects gravity well to be able to escape. Nature took care of the rest. Regrettable, but I am pleased to see that the Sangheili have achieved spaceflight, as well as Humanity."_

"Wait, you mean you didn't know? Humans have possessed spaceflight for hundreds of years, the Sangheili for much longer than that."

"_No, I was not aware. I am limited only to the immediate range of this object, nothing more. Also, it is not within my capabilities to do anything other than wait for its discovery, and be ready to relay the information that was stored within me. The object has deemed that action is necessary. It has called you here."_

"It called us here? No, we came here on our own accord." He got another feeling in the back of his mind that that wasn't the case

"_If that is what you believe."_

"If we were 'called' here, why? For what purpose?"

"_I do not know. But the object demands action."_

"How is the object 'demanding' anything? Isn't it inanimate?"

"_No... Yes... Unknown. We have insufficient data in that regard. This object appears to be Precursor, of those who came even before us, and were more powerful than anything this galaxy has ever seen. The full capabilities of this construct is not known. Strange... it appears that the object is... what -"_

The tone of the voice became much more serious, panicked even. "_Humanity is threatened. You _must_ go through the Gateway."_

Lasky's heart dropped into his stomach, was this AI construct rampant? "Whoa whoa whoa, we can't... you can't make us - we can't go! You don't even know where it leads! You can't just take us from our own galaxy and throw us somewhere else!"

"_Irrelevant. The object has spoken. You are the only thing that can prevent this Humanity's destruction. It is not your choice, rather the choice of beings larger than both you and I. May the Mantle ever guide you."_

"_This _Humanity?!" The whiteness began to fade, and Lasky reached out his hand towards nothing. "No! Wait!"

The whiteness completely receded, and Lasky fell into a hard, unforgiving black...

**UNSC **_**Infinity**_**, Location: Unknown**

Lasky came to with a start. He felt cold metal underneath his hands, and blood in his mouth. As his senses came back to him, he could see that he was bathed in red emergency lighting, and klaxons blared all around him. He immediately recognized that he was still on the _Infinity_ bridge, not that... place... that he had been before.

"Admiral!" he heard, as Sergeant Julius came into his field of vision, blood trickling down his cheek from a wound on his temple. "Get up Admiral!" he said, putting gloved hands around Lasky's midsection.

The bridge was in disarray. Crew members were writhing on the floor in pain, shouting to each other, scared and confused. Lasky struggled to his feet with the help of Sergeant Julius.

"SITREP!" he bellowed, wanting an immediate handle on the situation.

The voice of the A.I. Roland echoed throughout the bridge.

"Admiral, all major systems are currently undergoing a hard restart. Shields are offline. Weapons systems are offline. Slipspace capabilities are offline. Sensors are offline. Life support is online. Main reactors are offline. Secondary reactors are offline. Tertiary reactors are online. Central power is offline. Emergency power is online."

"What the hell happened!" yelled Lasky, although in his gut he had a feeling he already knew.

"Unknown sir, not enough data to determine our circumstances," replied Roland.

Just then, the emergency lighting cut out, only to be replaced seconds later by dull white, flickering lights.

"Secondary reactors online. There is sufficient power to activate our sensor suite," said Roland.

"Do it! Find out what's going on!" ordered Lasky.

"Analyzing.. Admiral, we are 284,958 kilometers away from a large terrestrial planet, initial scans show a heavily populated and industrialized surface. The planet does not match with any in the UNSC database. Warning: seventy-two unknown signatures ranging from corvette to destroyer class detected holding above the planet. Heat output typical with those of warship class. They are now gathering together in a defensive position and orienting towards us."

That got Lasky's attention. If these vessels had hostile intent, there wasn't a damn thing the _Infinity_ could do about it. It was every ship commander's worst nightmare. "Unknown warships? Forerunner?"

"Not likely, signatures do not match typical composition of Forerunner vessels."

"Covenant? Insurrectionists?" asked Lasky.

"Maybe, but if they are, these aren't any type of ships we've encountered. The Innies usually just repurpose our own... these are of a remarkably different design."

"Can you show me?"

"No. There's not enough power to operate a vidscreen without compromising what little systems we have left."

Lasky inhaled through his teeth. "Is our situation that bad that turning on a single vidscreen will deactivate our sensors?"

"Yes sir. I'm operating below the minimum power requirements as it is."

"What about the _Shadow of Intent?_" Lasky inquired, wondering if they got dragged into the same situation that the _Infinity_ was in.

"The Sangheili Assault Carrier is holding approximately eight thousand kilometers off our stern, be advised, sensors indicate them to be in a similar situation to us. Admiral, I'm detecting small signatures typical with strike craft launching from a few of the ships and several orbital stations. They are forming a screen in front of the main formation of ships."

Lasky grimaced, both because of his now excruciating headache and in light of the current situation. His mind immediately came to the conclusion that they had stumbled upon a hidden rebel planet, and ONI had made it clear they hadn't accounted for the innies entire fleet. But then he remembered his 'talk' with the Librarian. Where had that Precursor Gateway brought them? "What about the object that we were investigating? Is it still here?"

"Negative."

Lasky could do nothing but assume the worst. Not UNSC, not Covenant, not Forerunner. Hell, he would take Insurrectionists right now. "Roland, I want our defensive and offensive capabilities back online and I wanted it yesterday!"

The bridge lights dimmed, then went back to emergency red, with Roland saying, "Diverting power: shields at one percent and rising."

Suddenly, the titanium plates that had fallen to protect the bridge in the case of a critical systems failure disengaged.

Lasky's mouth dropped as he was met with a sight that every UNSC soldier knew.

"Planet scans complete... wait... this can't be right," said Roland, disbelief bleeding through his sythesized voice as he no doubt ran millions more computations.

The AI looked from his spot on the holotable to Lasky, and UNSC officer met his 'eyes.'

"Admiral, I've ran the topographical scans a thousand times. The landmassess, the water bodies... they all match!"

"This planet is Earth!"

* * *

**So what did you think? Don't forget to leave any thoughts, suggestions, or constructive criticism in your reviews! I will try to respond to everything I can. This chapter was all halo, but the next will feature both. Also, quick question: Ashley or Kaiden?**


	2. Chapter 2: Decisions

**Author's Note:** **Wow, just wow... I honestly never expected to get such a tremendous response for a first chapter, I am absolutely humbled. That being said, that same response just got me so pumped up that I just **_**had**_** to write another chapter for you all. For those of you that are following New Horizons, fear not, I'm already a third of the way done with Chapter 22 and it will be the next thing I release (by the end of the weekend maybe?)**

**I wholeheartedly thank each of you who was kind enough to drop a review or a follow/fave, and I'll try to answer some of you who had questions right now. Special shoutout to Duffman3005, as for the first review of a story, yours was pretty great to see.**

**edboy4926: I understand that there was some confusion with the characters listings in the summary, but hopefully it's fixed now, it'll be a male Shepard.**

**Zezia333: I made a mistake in my timeline but it is fixed now, I meant to say it had been three years since the defeat of the Didact in 2557, placing the Halo story at 2560.**

**TheConstellation: A full analysis of tactics used by the Didact has been completed, and the **_**Infinity**_** has been upgraded accordingly.**

**Fulliron: The Chief was preoccupied but don't worry, he'll show up sooner or later... And I'll do my best in any future Cortana/Roland/EDI interactions (which there will be plenty of).**

**highlander348: Well, the UNSC and Separatist Sangheili have been exchanging minor tech, and the UNSC has been gaining a wealth of knowledge from ONI Research Facility Trevelyn, so I don't see any reason why the average marine gear should stay the same...**

**J.E.P. 1996: You're right, I'm going to keep the **_**Infinity**_**'s armament the same as it is listed in the wiki, four Super-Heavy MAC's and two Energy Projectors, but the MAC's will have been upgraded for increased yield and rate of fire. **

**Michael: It's been three years since Lasky was promoted to Captain, and for an officer of his caliber, as well as commander as Humanity's most powerful warship, I think that it's only natural he be given the rank of Admiral.**

**hornet07: For the sake of the story I'm going to have Palmer's and Lasky's heights be a little closer, you'll see why in later chapters.**

**mcknight93: Yes, Unggoy and Mgalekgolo will be aboard the **_**Shadow of Intent**_**, as some of them have remained loyal to the Sangheili.**

**angelus288: By the "Council worshiping the idiot ball" I assume you mean the Council acting like idiots? I assure you, all Council members will act like the smart, seasoned politicians that they are, they will not be making any ridiculous, irrational decisions. And don't worry, the UNSC and the Separatist Sangheili will have some "issues" they will have to work out as well.**

**Anyways, onto the story! As always, a special shoutout to my beta JonHarper for acting as both an awesome editor and sounding board for ideas.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but all original content is mine. **

* * *

**Chapter Two: Decisions**

**SSV **_**Kilimanjaro**_**, Earth**

**March 1****st****, 2186**

With a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and his omni-tool active in the other, Admiral Steven Hackett walked easily onto the bridge. The two Alliance Marine bridge guards saluted, and Hackett nodded at them as the bridge doors slid open at his approach.

He took a quick glance around the familiar bridge of one of Humanity's most powerful and storied dreadnoughts, dimly lit by blue overhead lights and orange consoles. He nodded at his XO, Captain Jilian, and took his signature spot near the forwards observation viewport.

Hackett looked out the viewport, glancing at the blues, greens, and white of the crest of Earth that was just barely visible to his right. He took a sip of coffee, and raised his eyebrows at the rich, surprisingly good taste. When Captain Jilian had said she had a can of real French Roast, she had meant it.

The Fifth Fleet had just enjoyed two weeks of shore leave, following their maintenance and refit cycle.

And the fleet was in the final stages of assembling over Earth in order to travel back to Arcturus Station and relieve the Fourth Fleet.

As was his usual custom at the beginning of his shift, Hackett scrolled through the various reports and data streaming into his omni-tool from the _Kilimanjaro_'s core systems. Nothing out of the ordinary... Drive core operating at full capacity, kinetic barriers at one hundred percent, weapons online, although the main mass accelerator could use a little more calibrating. He would see about getting someone on that later. He checked the update to the refit and upgrade reports and nodded in approval at the yields and test results of the new Thanix cannons and Javelin torpedoes. Ever since the Alliance had gotten back the Normandy from Shepard, it had leapt at the opportunity to reverse engineer the previously closley guarded Thanix cannons.

Talking another sip of coffee, Hackett tapped into the _Kilimanjaro'_s sensor data just to check if _–_

The Alliance Admiral almost choked on his coffee, coughing violently as the hot liquid almost burned his throat.

He turned back to his bridge and was met with the sort of organized chaos that could only be found on a warship as klaxons began to blare.

Alliance personnel were running back and forth, tapping furiously into consoles, and shouting into omni-tool communicators, or at him, the cacophony of noise washing over Hackett.

"Admiral, two ships have appeared just under 300,000 kilometers away in grid sector Echo-271!"

"Profiles don't match any known Alliance or Council vessels!"

"How did they get past our defenses at the Charon relay?"

"Holy hell, look at the size of those things!"

"I've never seen ships as big as those!"

"Those aren't... no, they can't be."

Hackett hurled his coffee into a trash disposal bin and snapped into action.

"All hands to battle-stations!" Hackett bellowed, and the general quarters klaxons adding their throughout the ship. "Contact the rest of the fleet, get us between Earth and those unknowns, defensive position Alpha-One! Scramble our fighters!"

The deck shuddered under Hackett's feet as the _Kilimanjaro_'s engines responded to his orders, and the dreadnought began to move.

Hackett strode over into the _Kilimanjaro'_s CIC, looking for his XO.

"Jilian, I need information and I need it now. What are these ships doing? Are they moving? How did they get here?" Hackett said.

"I don't know sir, they just... appeared! And no, they're holding in position right now."

Hackett motioned to a comms officer. "Ensign, get me Admiral Lindholm at the Charon relay!"

"And someone get a visual up on the holos!" Hackett added.

When the holo materialized on the main viewer, Hackett's jaw dropped.

The two ships were... _massive_. If the sensor readings were correct, both ships were almost five and a half kilometers, dwarfing that of the 1.3 kilometer long _Kilimanjaro_, one of the largest ships in the Alliance Navy. That was where their similarities ended. Even though these ships were alien to Hackett, he could clearly see that they were of two different designs. One, which had been designated Unknown One, was all sharp angles, flat surfaces, and what Hackett could only assume were weapons protrusions. It looked like a flying brick with guns. Not unlike early Alliance naval vessels in fact.

The other was a different story altogether. Unknown Two, had a sleeker, more graceful silhouette, with remarkable whale-like hooked bow sections. A feeling in Hackett's gut told him that both ships were immensely powerful.

But how the hell did they manage to get so _big_? All ships in the galaxy utilized the mass effect in order to move themselves in an efficient manner. The key to this process was Element Zero, which when subjugated to an electrical current releases a mass effect field that can raise or lower the mass of all objects within that field. A positive charge would increase mass, while a negative charge would decrease the mass, it was all stuff everyone learned in high school.

However, the amount of Element Zero needed to invoke the Mass Effect on a ship did not increase linearly with the size of the ship, but exponentially. Since mass and volume are based on the cube of a ship's length, doubling a ship's dimensions would require eight times the eezo. For example, the SX3 Alliance Fighter uses 100 grams of eezo in its core and is twenty meters in length. An Alliance frigate, two hundred meters in length, would need 100,000 grams. Now a one thousand meter dreadnought, only five times the length of a frigate, would require 12,500,000 grams of eezo, 125 times more of the element.

Element Zero being the rare, and consequently expensive, item that it was, building ships larger than a kilometer in length was just impractical, unimaginably expensive, and could in theory result in disastrous problems regarding the size of a drive core that would be needed to power them. So for these ship to be over _five kilometers long_... Hackett just couldn't get his head around it.

"Admiral, are they going to attack us?" he heard a rather nervous-looking Ensign ask. Evidently she was as wary of the two ships enormity as he was.

Hackett looked closer at the holo of the two Unknowns. His seasoned mind began to notice things. First of all, there were no lights among either of the ships. No running lights, no engine lights, nothing. Second, both vessels weren't moving at all. They weren't reacting to the Alliance maneuvers, weren't bringing their bow of broadsides to bear, but stayed at a strangely tilted angle relative to the Alliance ships.

"No, I don't think so, Ensign," he responded. He gestured for Captain Jilian. "Captain, what do you notice about these two ships?"

"Other than the fact that the Alliance would bankrupt itself trying to get enough eezo to power the drive core of ships that size?"

"Yes, but look closer. They haven't changed their orientation at all in response to our defensive maneuvers."

Jilian nodded. "Do you think they might be disabled?"

"I don't know. But I don't think we shouldn't take any hasty actions," Hackett said.

"Sir, I've got Admiral Lindholm on the quantum communicator," he heard.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Hackett said as he made his way to the communicator. He arrived, pressed a few keys, and the near full-size figure of the First Fleet's commanding officer Admiral Ines Lindholm appeared, shimmering in static-blue.

She saluted, then said, "Admiral Hackett. I got the notice that you sent out about the two... super-dreadnoughts. Is Earth safe? What are they doing?"

"Earth is fine, although I've ordered our local military to their full readiness level. What's strange though is that the two ships, they aren't doing _anything_. We've been led to believe that they might be disabled."

"Disabled? Have you attempted any form of communications?" she asked.

"No, I want to wait until I've got the entire Fifth Fleet between them and Earth before trying anything. Lindholm, did any ships come through the Charon relay? Has there been any strange activity, any unusual readings?"

Lindholm shook her head. "No sir, nothing has come through for the past hour, and all sensor readings have been normal."

Hackett scratched the stubble on his chin. "Alright. Admiral, I want you and half of your fleet at Earth ASAP. I'm not taking any chances. We'll determine the best course of action after you arrive."

"Acknowledged sir, we'll be there as fast as we can."

"See to it. Hackett out."

He strode quickly back to the bridge. "Captain, any changes?"

"No sir. We just tried hailing them on the general frequency, but no response. What's the word with Lindholm?" Jilian asked.

"Half of the First Fleet is coming to reinforce us, they'll be here shortly. In the meantime, keep trying to establish communications, cycle through all available broadcast frequencies."

Jilian nodded. "Sir, we've got fighter squadrons ready to escort boarding teams to the Unknowns."

"Negative, we're not doing anything that could be considered a hostile action, at least not at this moment," Hackett reaffirmed.

"Admiral, the Council in London is requesting an update."

Hackett frowned. He was definitely not in the mood to talk to politicians, even if they were his direct superiors. "Tell them what we already know: two unknown ships 300,000 km from Earth have appeared, but they look disabled. We have taken defensive positions, and half of the First Fleet is coming to reinforce us before we take any action."

"Sir, they're requesting a vidcom channel for your update," the comms Ensign relayed.

"Well you can tell them that I _request_ them to forgive my inability to be reached, as I have more important matters to attend to. I will update them if the situation changes," Hackett said.

Captain Jilian tapped him on the shoulder, and Hackett turned, glad for the distraction. "What is it, Captain?'

"Sir, we're just getting our complete sensor scans back. You're going to want to see this." Jilian produced a data tablet from her uniform, then brought up a series of charts, numbers, and readings on the main holo. "Admiral, we haven't detected a single trace of Element Zero in both ships," she said quietly to him.

Hackett furrowed his brows. No eezo? At all? On one hand, that could explain how these ships were so large, but on the other...

All space-faring vessels, no matter how large or small, used Element Zero. That was a fact, an established law. But... Hackett had read the holo, seen the vids of scientists theorizing that eezo was a unique substance to their galaxy, and not a universal occurrence throughout all of space. Those had been readily dismissed though, counted as nothing more than amusing conjecture.

Yet not a few hundred thousand kilometers in front of him were two five and a half kilometer vessels that apparently contained not a single trace of eezo, something that should have been impossible.

"We don't know that for sure, Captain," said Hackett, "maybe we just haven't detected any eezo because their drive cores are powered off."

"Maybe. But Admiral, what if - "

"No Captain, no 'what ifs.' We don't have any time for conjectures. Right now, we deal with what we have," ordered Hackett.

Jilian took a breath, then nodded. "Yes Admiral. So what do we do now?"

Hackett looked at the holo of the two massive vessels, still exactly where they were ten minutes ago.

"As long as they continue to remain inactive, nothing until Lindholm and our reinforcements get here," he said. "For now, we play it safe."

* * *

**UNSC **_**Infinity**_**, Earth**

**Date: Unknown**

"Earth?!" Hernandez exclaimed in surprise. "If this is Earth, where the hell is the UNSC? Where are the ODPs? Where are the fleets?"

"Maybe there was some kind of battle, and that's where these new ships came from," reasoned Lewis, her voice tight with concern yet still professional.

Lasky swallowed, the warm copper taste of blood in his throat almost making him gag. The memories of his encounter with the Librarian A.I. were coming back to his the front of his mind in force. "No."

"The Admiral's right. There are no signs of battle: no spent ordnance, no debris, no distress beacons or lifepods," confirmed Roland. What he said next startled Lasky, as he never thought he would hear an AI sound... frightened. "Sir... I don't know what to do. This situation is outside my logic parameters. I'm in the process of_ rewriting_ them and I still don't have a clue what to do…"

Lasky looked around the now dead-silent bridge. thirty-two pairs of eyes looked back at him. Hernandez, Lewis, Julius, they were all his crew mates, his personnel, his friends. They looked to him for guidance, direction, orders, something... anything. They needed him to lead them.

And so he would.

Lasky spoke with a calm yet firm voice laced with authority and confidence, and he could instantly see the calming effect his voice had on the men and women of his bridge crew. The needed him to give them focus and direction in order to ultimately to lead them out of this….whatever _this_ was.

"Roland, what's the situation with our power? Reactor levels?" he asked.

"Tertiary reactor operating at maximum possible efficiency. Secondary reactor at 63 percent and rising. Primary reactors are still offline."

"Admiral! It's iffy, but I've managed to get inter-ship communications back online!"

"Excellent work Jeffreys!" Lasky exclaimed. "Find out what's going on throughout the rest of the ship. I want damage reports, casualty lists, system status confirmation, everything. All personnel are to report to battle-stations immediately."

"Battle-stations sir?" the _Infinity_'s comms officer asked, a bit worriedly, at the Admiral's words.

"Just in case, Lieutenant," Lasky reassured Jeffreys. "Roland, what's the status with our shields?"

"Sir our shields are currently at minimal sustainable strength, they're already starting to buckle. If I don't get more power soon they'll collapse and we'll be vulnerable." the AI replied.

"And what about the unknown ships?" He would have looked to the main holotable, but it was currently dark.

"They haven't moved Admiral, and neither have their fighters. Classic defensive half-sphere between us and the planet," relayed Lewis from her station.

Lasky rubbed his forehead. "Hernandez, what are our offensive options?"

The weapons officer inhaled through his teeth. "Very limited sir... I've got point defense guns and some of the Onagers coming back online, and we could theoretically launch missile strikes manually, but without targeting data -" he slapped a console to his right, it was dark except for the error message flashing across its screen "- we can't do jack shit. MAC cannons and Energy Projectors are out of the question, and they'll stay that way until our main reactors light up again."

"We need those main reactors back up. Roland, how long?" urgently questioned Lasky.

"We've got every available engineer and Hurogok working on that Admiral, Dr. Glassman says ten minutes, but he made very clear that was his most optimistic estimate."

"What about our fighters? Our Pelicans?" continued Lasky.

"Reports from the techs in the hangar bays say that they can have our fighter wings back up to speed and ready to launch in three minutes. No go on any Pelicans, however."

"Admiral, we should launch our fighters, give ourselves at least one possible weapon against these unknowns," suggested Hernandez.

Lewis looked at the weapons officer wide-eyed, then snapped her head at Lasky, nodding her head 'no' vigorously. "Sir, I don't think that such a good idea. We can't risk any action that could be considered aggressive, especially with the _Infinity_ in this state."

"They launched _their_ fighters though!" argued Hernandez.

"But if we do the same, those 'unknowns' could very quickly become 'hostiles'!" Lewis retorted.

"Enough. Both of you." Lasky ordered firmly, and the two immediately ceased. "Lewis is right, we can't risk being attacked right now. We showed up above _their_ planet, they have the right to any defensive action they please. And if they want to be so kind as to wait for our main systems to come back online, I'm inclined to let them."

"They could just be waiting for reinforcements Admiral, and what if they become hostile then?"

"We don't have a choice, Hernandez!" Lasky snapped. No. He wasn't going to act that way. He took a deep breath to steady himself and plan his next move.

Lasky turned to Jeffreys. "Lieutenant, how are our comms? Do we have any way to communicate with them?"

Jeffrey's sighed through his mouth in frustration. "Negative sir, there's just not enough power to transmit a signal. Hell, there's no way we'd know if _they_ were trying to contact_ us_ either."

"What about tight beaming? Or line of sight laser comms?" questioned Lasky.

"Too far away. We'd get signal degradation and lag. But the _Shadow of Intent _should be within range," replied the comms officer.

"Good enough. Get me a line to the _Intent _ASAP, Lieutenant. The rest of you, work on getting the _Infinity _back to full strength.

Someone handed him an earpiece, and once he fastened it, he spoke into it. "Shipmaster Vadum'? Arbiter?"

"_This is Vadum'," _gruffly said the Shipmaster of the Sangheili Assault Carrier. _"Admiral Lasky, we are not in the most advantageous of positions here. All of our systems except for our sensors and minor communications are currently disabled. We have Hurogok working on it, but it will be sometime before we get our engines, shields, and weapons running again."_

"It's the same on our end, Shipmaster, except we're just getting our shields back," said Lasky.

"_Understood. Now I am assuming you contacted me to discuss our plan of action concerning the large amount of warships and strike craft facing in our direction?_

"Yes. Tell me, Shipmaster, what's the last thing you remembered before we arrived... wherever we are?" Lasky asked. He made sure he didn't say Earth.

"_We were holding at maximum sensor range, just as you were, and were calibrating the slipspace drives for a jump when the whole ship seemed to vibrate, penetrating even all the way into the bridge. The next thing I remember, my crew and I are waking up and picking ourselves off of the floor, but the _Intent_ was still slumbering."_

Lasky frowned. "So you didn't hear or see anything unusual?"

R'tas Vadum' clicked his mandibles together. "No. Did you?"

Even though this was just an audio channel, Lasky found himself looking at the deck. He debated what he should tell the Sangheili, as just a few minutes ago their alliance was more formal than anything else. But especially given their current circumstances, Lasky had a feeling that didn't matter anymore. The _Infinity _needed the _Shadow of Intent _by its side.

The UNSC Admiral glanced around the bridge. Even though he was sure his crew was diligently at work, he also knew that they were attentively listening in to the conversation. Lasky knew that if he lied to R'tas, he would be lying to his crew. And Lasky didn't lie to his crew.

"Yes, I did. Right after the vibration I had a... vision of some sorts. I'll explain later, because we have bigger problems to worry about. Try to get the _Intent_ back to full operational status as soon as you can, Shipmaster, and **don't**make any move that could be considered aggressive or hostile. We can't risk a battle with these unknowns in our weakened state."

"_Understood, Admiral, Vadum' out."_

The link severed, and Lasky took the comm out of his ear. He caught Lewis' gaze, her bright green eyes desperately curious. "A vision? What did you see? Do you know why we're here, Admiral, above an Ear…world we don't recognize?" She could not bring herself to say it. This world was not Earth, not in her mind, not the real Earth.

Lasky wished he could answer her, but right now he needed the crew focusing on restoring the _Infinity _back to combat readiness. "Later Lieutenant, right now I need you to do your job. Find out everything you possibly can about these unknown ships. I want profiles, classifications, priority targets, estimated capabilities, anything you can get."

"Admiral!" he heard, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Jeffreys waving him down. "We've finished getting reports from throughout the ship. The techs are confirming what we already know, all major systems are going through hard restarts, but the engineers at the slipspace capacitors are reporting the drives are giving off some ridiculous levels of radiation. They've sealed the compartment off, but they can't get close to attempt a restart at this time."

Lasky grimaced. Without slipspace capabilities, their maneuverability options had been cut drastically. "What about casualties?"

"Two hundred, give or take a dozen. None are critical thankfully, but the doctors are saying they need power for the medical bays if they are going to have any chance of treating the injured," said Jeffreys.

"Sir, diverting power to medical facilities will reduce the rate at which the shield is recharging." informed Roland.

"What's our shield strength right now?"

"Shields have stabilized at just above minimal strength. They are slowly regenerating."

It was an easy decision. "Good enough. Get those med stations up and running."

"Admiral Lasky, you have to see this," said Lewis.

Lasky hurried over to the sensor officer's station. "What is it?"

"Sir, these unknown ships are giving off some _crazy_ readings."

"What kind of readings? Are they maneuvering? Powering up weapons?" Lasky quickly asked, a nervous pang resonating through his gut.

"No no, it's just that... here, take a look." Lewis moved her head to the side so that the sensor data was more easily visible to the Admiral.

Now Lasky wasn't an expert in sensor readings, but he was experienced enough to know that something was definitely out of the ordinary.

"I've never seen these kind of gravitational readings coming from a ship before, sir," remarked Lewis. "Sure, there have always been tiny fluctuations due to the displacement of ships and artificial gravity generators, but this is something completely different. These ships seem to be _surrounded_ by intense oscillating gravitational fields. It's the most bizarre thing I've ever seen."

Lasky put a hand to his chin, and wondered what the implications of Lewis' discovery were. Did these unknowns use gravity as a sort of weapon? For movement? He didn't know, and he wasn't exactly keen to find out right now.

Jeffreys motioned towards Lasky, another earpiece in his hand. "Admiral, I've got Captain Dare on the line."

Lasky hurriedly walked over to the comms officer and took the earpiece from his hand. He had been itching for any form of contact with the commander of the _Infinity_'s complement of Strident-class frigates, and now he had one. She was also the _Infinity_'s resident ONI attaché

"Commander! What's the status of your frigates? Any casualties amongst your crews?" he questioned.

"Only a few minor scrapes and bruises, Admiral, but First Sergeant Buck somehow managed to fracture his wrist while lying in bed. They're all being attended to."

"And what about your frigates?"

"Sir, by our estimates we'll be back up and ready to launch in under five minutes. From what I've been able to gather, our systems didn't take nearly the beating that the _Infinity_ did. The hull and the shields must have protected us from whatever the hell happened."

Lasky hadn't thought about that. It was probably why the _Infinity_'s fighters were quicker to regain operational status as well. Either way he was relieved, even if it was just a slight bit. If they were to be attacked, at least he could deploy the ten Strident frigates to act as some layer of protection.

"Understood, Commander. We'll keep you posted on the situation, but be ready to deploy if the need arises."

"Yes Admiral."

Lasky nodded. "Lasky out -"

"Sir?"

Lasky's hand paused over the button that would end the communication. "What is it?"

"Admiral, some of my crew are getting...worried. They're confused. They don't understand what's going on, where they are or why they're here. It's making them a little nervous. They'll still do their jobs sir, don't worry about that. I just thought you should know."

"I'll be straightforward with you Commander: They'll know those answers as soon as I do. But for now, just like they would in any other situation, they have a duty to perform. The _Infinity_ depends on everyone upholding their responsibilities."

There was a slight pause. "Aye, aye sir. Ring if you need us. Dare out."

The link was cut, and Lasky took the piece out of his ear. He saw Hernandez and Lewis looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"Our Strident Frigates should be ready to launch within a few minutes. It'll give us at least some form of protection in case worst comes to worst," Lasky relayed.

"Roland, what's the word with our primary reactors?" the UNSC Admiral asked.

Just then, the emergency red lighting that the bridge had been previously bathed in was replaced by strong, bright white light. All throughout the bridge, derelict consoles came back online, floor lighting reactivated, and the main holotable flickered back to life.

In the center of the newly active holotable, Roland's World War Two avatar materialized, and he looked at Lasky with a smug smile on his face, like a child who just figured out the answer to a complicated puzzle. "Admiral, primary reactors are back online. Running a full diagnostics now, but everything seems to be back in working order. I am rerouting and increasing power flow to all available systems."

Lasky checked his watch. By Dr. Glassman's best estimates, they were still supposed to have a ways to go before central power was restored. "How did you do it, Roland?

Roland tilted his head so that he was looking down at the 'floor' and shuffled his feet. "I may have overloaded our tertiary reactors and surged the excess power into the primary reactors capacitors to jump start them. It wasn't anything dangerous, just not recommended because of, well...side effects."

Lasky looked at the AI's avatar disapprovingly. "Damage?"

"Nothing a few days of repairs and double shifts shouldn't be able to fix. Glassman's really not going to be happy with me." The AI smirked.

Lasky sighed. He questioned the AI's methods, but at least they got results, and at a time like this, he wasn't about to complain. He would have to talk to Roland about his communication skills though. "The important thing is that we have main power back online, we can worry about repairs later. Roland, I want all available power going to regenerating the shields and weapons first, and then the rest to any other essential systems."

He turned to Jeffreys. "Lieutenant, do we have mainline comms ba – "

"Shit – Admiral! Forty new ships have just appeared eight thousand kilometers off our stern and two thousand kilometers up! Profiles and reading match with those already in planet-orbit!" Lewis yelled.

"Reinforcements." deduced Roland with a concerned frown.

Lasky's was initially startled, but inwardly not surprised. It made perfect sense for these unknowns to summon more forces to help defend their planet, maybe that's why the original unknown fleet had been holding in place for so long. But, when he saw the positioning and location of the ships, he grimaced. The new formation was effectively two thousand kilometers distant from the _Shadow of Intent_, very, very close quarters considering the vast scale of space. And knowing the Sangheili...

His worst fears were confirmed a moment later as the Assault Carrier started to orient itself towards the newcomers. _They must have gotten back main power right when we did_, he concluded.

"Admiral, I'm detecting a heat buildup along the port side of the _Intent_! They're charging their lateral plasma lines!"

Lasky gripped the guard rail of the main holotable with white knuckle intensity. "Dammit! Get me a line to the _Intent_ right now!"

"Sir, that new fleet is launching fighters and orienting themselves on the _Intent_."

Lasky reacted on instinct. This was about to turn into a shooting gallery, and he needed every advantage he could get "Roland, tell Dare she has confirmation to launch! Tell her to get her frigates in a screen around us!"

"Order away, Stridents launching. What about our fighters?" asked the AI.

"Keep them back for now, but I want all squadrons ready to blast out on my word," ordered Lasky.

Jeffreys tapped furiously away at his console, then raised his arms in the air in frustration. "Sir, they're receiving us but I'm not getting any kind of response!"

"R'tas! Thel! _Shadow of Intent_, power down your weapons! Do not engage, I repeat, **do not engage!**" Lasky exclaimed.

There were a few second of static-filled silence. "No response, sir," Jeffreys said.

Lasky needed to think fast, this could easily get very ugly very quickly. Then, the beginning of a plan started to form in his mind. It was crazy, possibly deadly, and had an unknown chance of success, but it was all he had right then. "Roland, shield strength?"

"Approaching sixty percent, sir."

"Good enough!" said Lasky. He hoped his hastily thought up gamble would pay off. "Nav, get us in between the _Intent _and the new fleet. Put us right in the middle of the Sangheili firing lane!"

"_In between them?!_" questioned Hernandez, unbelieving. "What if they shoot at us, what will we do? Our MACs are not at minimal charge!"

"They don't know that!" Lasky snapped at Hernandez. "Roland, do it now, that's an order! I'll be damned if we're going to be the cause of another First-Contact War!"

* * *

**SSV **_**Kilimanjaro**_**, Earth**

**March 1****st****, 2186**

"Sir, sensors have just picked up Lindholm's force. Updating the main holo."

The holotable changed to reflect the present situation, and Hackett paled. Lindholm's forty ships had arrived only a couple thousand kilometers away from the two Unknowns. _They're too close, Linholm what are you doing?! _"Get me a line to Lindholm right now!"

"Sir, Unknown Two is maneuvering! Orienting itself towards Lindholm's fleet!"

_So I guess they're _not _disabled now_, Hackett thought, hoping that the situation wouldn't deteriorate.

"Admiral, we're detecting a high buildup of heat along the port side of Unknown Two!"

Hackett gulped. It was deteriorating. "Weapons systems?"

"Unknown!"

"Sir! The Second Fleet is scrambling fighters and assuming offensive positions!"

"Oh my god... the ship... Unknown One is _launching_ _cruisers_!?"

"Ten cruiser-analogues are assuming defensive positions around Unknown One!"

"Unknown One is now maneuvering also – standby – what the… hell? If it continues its current vector, it will be putting itself between Unknown Two and Lindholm's fleet!

"Admiral Lindholm is requesting orders! Does she have permission to engage?"

Hackett took a deep breath, then in a decision that would change the fate of his galaxy forever, he shouted his order.

"All Alliance vessels, **hold your fire!**"

* * *

**UNSC **_**Infinity**_

It was a tense few seconds on the bridge. Nobody moved, nobody talked, it was dead silent.

"Sir, I've got missile solutions on the _Shadow of Intent_ and the new unknown fleet." Hernandez quietly said.

"Noted." Lasky responded, dearly hoping that they wouldn't be needed.

Almost everyone's eyes were glued to the main vidscreen, which showed the angrily glowing red-blue dots along the side of the Sangheili Assault Carrier that represented Plasma Torpedoes about to fire. They had been aimed at the newly-arrived unknown fleet, but now were pointed right at the _Infinity_'s starboard side.

_Come on Thel, be reasonable._

Lasky realized that he was holding his breath.

"Admiral, plasma lines are cooling off."

All throughout the bridge, there was a collective sigh of relief.

Realizing the shift in the situation, the new unknown fleet quickly turned away from the _Intent_and booked it back to the main formation holding above the planet.

Now that he was relatively sure that a battle wouldn't erupt, Lasky knew that he had to take steps to ensure that it wouldn't later, and also find out just what in the living hell was going on.

"Communications fully restored Admiral." Roland informed.

Lasky nodded in thanks to the AI and then turned to Jeffryeys. "Jeffreys, now that we have main comms back up, transmit a message on all available frequencies. Let's see if these unknowns want to talk."

Jeffreys held up a thumbs-up, indicating that he was transmitting.

"Hello, this is Admiral Thomas Lasky, I greet you on behalf of the United Nations Space Command..."

* * *

**Next chapter: First Contact! This one might come out a little later, as I'm going to focus on getting the next New Horizons chapter out first. **

**Don't forget to leave a review on what you thought of the chapter, any suggestions/questions you may have, or any constructive criticism!**

**Also, just curious, but which Halo/Mass Effect character interactions are you most looking forwards to seeing?**


	3. Chapter 3: First Contact

**Authors Note: Hey everybody, sorry for the long update time, but here's the next chapter. Just to clarify, this chapter is the first of two chapters regarding First Contact, when writing I felt that I just had to separate First Contact into two parts in order to give it proper justice.**

**Special shoutout to JonHarper, my ever diligent beta.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but all original content is mine.**

* * *

**Chapter Three: First Contact**

**SSV **_**Kilimanjaro**_**, Earth**

**March 1****st****, 2186**

"_Hel*** this *** Admir *** sky *** behalf *** United Nat *** mand *** co ***"_

"Isolate that signal!" barked Admiral Hackett as the static-filled transmission washed through the bridge speakers of the _Kilimanjaro_. "Can we clean that up?"

"I'm trying sir," breathed Captain Jilian in exasperation as her fingers flew over her console, "but these communications algorithms are unlike anything I have ever seen. I've got half the bridge crew and both our VI's working on decoding them."

Hackett frowned. The _Kilimanjaro _was outfitted with some of the best communications equipment the Alliance had at its disposal, only fitting for one of Humanity's newest and more powerful dreadnoughts. And the _Kilimanjaro_'s comm systems were automatically set to adjust to any type of more primitive signal, even being able to pick up and decode old 20th century fm radio frequencies in initial testing. The fact that they couldn't pickup this transmission was either more advanced than their own comm gear, too alien in design, or both. Either way, it was disconcerting.

There was, however, one thing that they couldn't ignore: English. A thousand questions flooded into Hackett's mind at once. Cerberus? No, they would have been much more aggressive, and that sleek silver-white ship didn't look anything like something they would build. Or _could_ build. Not even Cerberus could have dredged up the amount of eezo that would have been needed to construct a ship of that size, let alone two. Unless they had discovered a way the operate a ship that didn't require Element Zero... but if that was the case why the hell hadn't Alliance Intelligence heard anything about it?

He dismissed Cerberus as a viable option, they just didn't have the resources to build something like this without bankrupting themselves. So then who were they? Some rogue faction of Humanity, possibly one that had slipped off of the Alliance's radar? Or perhaps from a long lost colony from the many dozens of Sleeper ships humanity had sent out before the invention of Mass Effect drives? They hadn't accounted for them all….Even then mass effect technology was used to some degree in those early ships and it was highly doubtful a small startup colony had the resources let alone the engineering capability to create such a ship.

And that still didn't explain the nearly non-existent eezo readings! Maybe they were some new spacefaring alien race that happened to speak English? They did have instantaneous translators after all, but the programs were limited to the known alien races and languages...

His mind went to the Council races. Turians? No, if the Hierarchy could build ships of that size they sure as hell would have been bragging about it. Asari? Also no, they didn't have that kind of military capital, at least according the Alliance. Prior to this encounter over Earth the _Destiny Ascension_ reigned supreme as the largest, most powerful ship in known space. Now? It was barely a third the size of the two monsters out there. The construction of either ship didn't exactly fit Asari Aesthetics. No, definitely not them. Salarians? Of all the three Council races, that was the only one Hackett could see as a possibility. _They always were sneaky bastards, but this?_

But the composition, the look, the style of the two super-dreadnoughts were just too _different_ that somehow Hackett knew they weren't made any Council species.

"Did we have to use any translator programs on that transmission?" asked Hackett.

Captain Jilian nodded no.

That ruled out the alien option, these unknowns spoke pure English. Hackett wanted answers. He thought he had heard the words "Admiral," and what sounded like "United Nations," perhaps they were dealing with some sort of military organization. He hoped so, Hackett could work with that, but somehow he was left with the uncomfortable feeling that he was dealing with Humans. Humans whose allegiance was in question and who had almost unheard of engineering capabilities

Hackett looked back at Tactical analysis of unknown one and suppressed a wince. Hundreds of guns of seemingly all different sizes covered all surfaces. He didn't even want to think about what the four forward mounted behemoths were capable of. Despite its lack of eezo Hackett didn't think the ship was less advanced; Everything he had seen, all of his instincts screamed that this was a ship that could deliver as much punishment, if not more, than she advertised.

The Second behemoth was more of a mystery, yet in its own way, it seemed more sinister. There were no easily identifiable weapon emplacements that they could discern, buy its design also spoke of being a more advanced ship with the way form and function so seamlessly blended together.

"Sir, Admiral Lindholm's fleet has made it back to our position and is falling into formation." said Jilian.

"Good, tell her I expect her on the QEC when this is all sorted out." Hackett said, a tinge of anger seeping through his voice. Why the hell she had chosen to drop out not a few thousand kilometers away from those unknowns when she had clear orders to stay as far away as possible baffled him, and had almost resulted in disaster. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Any luck with that transmission?"

Jilian inhaled through her teeth. "No sir, nothing."

Hackett needed answers, and the only way to get them was to find some way to communicate. "Send a message on all frequencies, use radio if you have too, maybe they'll be able to pick it up."

Jilian gave him a thumbs up, indicating that the signal was transmitting. "Attention unidentified vessels, this is Admiral Steven Hackett of the Systems Alliance. We are receiving you, but your transmission is severely garbled. Can you read us?"

* * *

**UNSC **_**Infinity**_**, Earth**

**Date: Unknown**

"Hello, this is Admiral Thomas Lasky, I greet you on behalf of the United Nations Space Command."

The bridge was silent. Lasky glanced over to the comms officer Jeffrey's, and saw that he was buried in his console readings.

They waited a little longer, no response. Lasky decided to try again.

"Hello, this is Admiral Thomas Lasky of the United Nations Space Command. We mean no harm. I repeat, we come in peace."

More waiting, but still no response.

"Anything Jeffreys?" asked Lasky.

"No sir. Honestly, I have no idea if they are receiving or not. Their comm systems could be completely incompatible with ours, the chance that they're receiving us is very small. I'm not detecting any sort of transmission from them either." he said.

"Sir, the newly arrived unknown fleet has joined formation with the one already above the planet." relayed Lewis from her sensor station.

"Acknowledged Lewis." Lasky ran his left hand through his short brown hair. "Roland, has the _Shadow of Intent _responded to any of our hails?"

"No Admiral."

Lasky sighed. He had a word or two he wanted to say to the Arbiter after the _Intent_'s aggressive actions almost ignited a shoot-out. He had to remember though, even though they were allies, Lasky technically didn't have command over the Assault Carrier like he had over the _Infinity_ and her ten frigates.

"Very well, keep trying. Roland, what's the status with our slipspace generat - "

"Whoa whoa whoa, Admiral! I think I've got something!" yelled Jeffrey's excitedly. "I'm picking up a faint signal on the lowband, I'm trying to isolate it now."

Lasky strode over to the comms officer and clapped him on both shoulders. "What do you got, Lieutenant? How'd you find it?"

"I ran a program to check through what we classify as background interference, but this signal just seemed too organized. And when I ran a point-of-origin program, it pointed towards the unknown fleet." Jeffrey's furrowed his dark eyebrows. "The code, it's... its familiar, but at the same time it's like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm working on it." said Jeffrey's.

"As am I." added Roland. After a slight pause, the AI continued. "This is fascinating Admiral, I am detecting some surprising similarities to centuries old human communications codes and algorithms, yet every time I think I have something, a new variable pops up, the likes of which are unfamiliar to anything we have in our databanks."

"Wait - " said Jeffrey's. "I've got it!" With that, the comms officer slapped a key on his console, and the sound of a voice, what seemed to be a _human_ voice, filtered through the bridge speakers. It wasn't very loud, and bits of static came through here and there, but the transmission was clear enough.

"_Attention unident**ied vessels, this is Admiral Steven Hackett of the Systems A**iance. We are receiving you, but **ur transmission is se**rely garbled. Can you read us?"_

"Sir we're mirroring their signal, you should be transmitting." Jeffrey's said quietly.

"Admiral Hackett?" began Lasky loudly, "This is Admiral Thomas Lasky of the UNSC _Infinity_, we read you."

There were a few seconds of silence. Not a single person moved, and even the consoles seemed to have quieted their beeping.

"_Admiral Lasky, you *nd you vesssles are intru*ing on the so**reign space of the Systems Alliance. Expla** yourse*ves."_

Lasky's mind went back to the disaster that had been so narrowly avoided earlier with the _Shadow of Intent_. He knew he had to clear the air. "We do not come with any ill-intent. I repeat, _we do not _come with any hostile intentions."

More silence, punctuated by more bursts of static.

"_We w*** be the jud*e of that. How *** you arrive here?"_

Lasky gave a sideways glance to Roland. The AI put a finger to his holographic lips, echoing his own state of mind. He wasn't about to tell these unknowns everything surrounding the circumstances of their unexpected appearance. "We... where investigating an artifact. The artifact reacted upon our investigation, shut down most of our systems, and 'transported' us here." Lasky sure as hell wasn't going to tell him about the Librarian AI, that the artifact might have been Precursor, or the fact that they had been teleported to an almost _identical copy_ of their Earth.

Suddenly, there was a piercing shriek of interference, followed by a crashing wave of white static. Lasky cringed as the sounds assaulted his ears, along with the rest of the bridge crew. Jeffrey's face was a mask of determination, and he was furiously typing away at his console.

"Jeffreys!" Lasky yelled over the noise. "What's going on!"

"I don't know sir, I don't know! I'm trying to fix it..." He finished typing a string of commands, and the noise began to subside. Not completely, but enough so that Lasky could take his hands off of his ears.

Through the static, the voice continued, more garbled than before, but still understandable. Barely.

"_**tifact? Pr**hean? **** need more informat** than that."_

"Admiral? We are losing your signal!" urgently said Lasky.

"_Come in *** repeat, are *** there?"_

"Dammit..." muttered Lasky under his breath. This wasn't working, and he needed to figure out where the hell he was and what the hell was going on. Then he thought of something. It was a longshot, he wondered if this Admiral Hackett would even hear it, much less agree to it, but it was probably the only way they were going to be able to communicate.

"Admiral Hackett, our comm connection is cutting out. I suggest a face to face meeting, preferably aboard an unarmed ship, in which we can further discuss our situation."

They waited a few seconds, then there was a broken response.

"_Acknowle**ed. We w**l send an un**med frigate to a point equid***** from both ** our loca**ons to act as **** matic vess**. *** frigate *** **nal you when read*. Hack*** o**."_

"Anyone catch that?" asked Lasky.

"It sounded like they said they would send an unarmed frigate to a point in between both our forces to act as a meeting location." clarified Roland.

"Sir, we're just getting back long-range scans of the solar system. Everything is the same as Sol. Same sun, same planets, same moons... except for Mars, there are some strange readings coming from Mars, as well as some unusual gravitation readings seemingly originating from behind Pluto. " relayed Lewis. She shared a look with Hernandez, then both looked at Lasky.

"Admiral, what's going on, sir?" asked Hernandez, again.

Lasky sighed, leaning back in his chair. Hernandez was partly correct, the crew did need an update on their current situation, and now was as good a time as ever.

"Roland, open a ship-wide channel, include Dare's frigates as well." he ordered.

"What about the _Shadow of Intent_?" asked the AI.

"No, not right now. I'll discuss this with the Arbiter later. Do tell him that a meeting has been arranged and I would like him on a Phantom to the _Infinity _as soon as possible. As much as I don't want to admit it, him as his ship are just as much a part of this whole fiasco as we are."

"Got it Admiral. You're live in three." replied the AI.

"Attention UNSC personnel, this is your commanding officer Admiral Thomas Lasky speaking. I know that many of you are wondering just what is going on and I apologize for keeping you in the dark, only up until now was my full attention needed in the bridge. I am going to be honest with all of you: I don't exactly know what happened."

Lasky rubbed his forehead. He wanted to tell his crew what he knew, about the Forerunner AI and the vision he had, but he _just couldn't_. He couldn't take the risk of his crew second-guessing him because he decided to start rambling about some vision he had that may or may not have been real. If Lasky was deemed unactive for duty, this entire situation could quickly deteriorate, and that was something that he wouldn't allow. So he lied, for the good of everybody.

"But what I do know is there's not a lot we can do right now other than deal with the facts in front of us. We are twelve ships against one hundred and twenty of unknown capabilities, with damaged slipspace drives that prevent us from retreating. This could potentially become a very dangerous situation, but thankfully these unknowns are interested in keeping things peaceful. Regular comms communication has proven to be difficult, so a face-to-face meeting has been arranged in the neutral space between our groups aboard an unarmed vessel not long from now. I will send back an update as soon as the meeting is over. Until then, keep up the good work. Lasky out."

The link closed, and out of the corners of his vision he saw Lewis and Hernandez eyeing him suspiciously.

Roland broke the silence. "Admiral, the Arbiter is on the way in a Phantom."

"Thank you Roland." Lasky got up and walked over to a small compartment that contained bottled water. He took one out, felt the condensed coolness against the claminess of his palms, and unscrewed the cap, taking a deep drink.

Lasky turned to Roland. "Tell Captian Dare to take a Pelican over to my private hangar bay, and direct the Arbiter that way too. They'll be accompaning me on the face-to-face. Alert Captain Micheals in the secondary bridge that he's in charge until I get back."

The Admiral began to walk towards the bridge doors. "Get Commander Carter and the Master Cheif up here as well, they'll be serving as security. And make sure Chief has Cortana with him."

* * *

**UNSC **_**Infinity**_**, S-Deck**

**Date: Unknown**

John-117 stepped out of the rotating gyroscopic machine that had just attached his MJOLNIR, his heavy boots making a resounding _clang_ on the deck. He nodded a thanks to the technicians that had helped him, and began walking to his weapons locker.

The familiar rising sound of his shield charging bounced around in his helmet, and he was momentarily enveloped in a field of pulsating yellow. With the bar at the top of his HUD completely filled, John was then surrounded by a second field of solid blue, resulting in a second bar right below his main shield bar being filled as well.

After thirty plus years of fighting enemies whose mainline shock troops were shielded, the UNSC had finally begun to take steps in the same direction. This was made possible by several breakthroughs in downscaling rechargeable energy sources and reverse engineering Promethean hard light barrier equipment. In 2559 UNSC R&D had come out with the Individual Hard Light Barrier System to finally give all UNSC troops a form of protection other than their armor. Shaped like a hexagon and as large as a fist, the barrier emitter was designed to be compatible with already existing UNSC battle dress, able to snap into already existing midsection compartments.

The device worked by emitting an extremely slight magnetic field that enveloped the wearer, and if that field was broken by a projectile of significant force, the hard light barrier sprung up to deflect the round. While not as powerful as standard MJOLNIR or Sangheili shielding, in tests these new barriers had been able to withstand a couple seconds of fire until the wearer was able to get to cover, and 98% of the time could withstand a standard ballistic round to the head, previously an instantly lethal shot. UNSC Marines and non-Spartan Special Forces had dubbed the new invention a godsend, while Spartan's had welcomed another layer of energy protection.

John, who had always believed in gaining every advantage possible, had attached a Barrier System to the back of his armor, but in reality he knew that the added layer was only a drop in the bucket compared to the proteciton offered to him by his suit, MJOLNIR Mk. VIII.

However, where it differed was in the makeup of the actual armor itself. After stumbling upon a Forerunner armor suit in near perfect condition on ONI Research Facility Trevelyan, scientists had rushed to work on reverse engineering anything they could. Though they had only been given a few weeks, scientists had managed to imitate the molecular makeup of the armor plating used by the Forerunner suit. However, recreating the armor was extremely expensive, and it had been deemed only practical to be used in small-scale projects. Coincidentally, the schematics for the newest set of MJONIR, Mk. VIII were just being drawn up, and UNSC techs wanted to but the first batch of Forerunner plate, designated Prefect plate, to use.

Gone was the Ultra-dense, ultra heavy titanium alloy outer shell, instead replaced by the much lighter, stronger and versatile Forunnner composite armor, which in tests was nearly six times as durable as the strongest piece of UNSC armor of comparable make, and this was just the first generation retrograde. The scientists at Trevelyan promised that in time they could build even stronger versions of the armor plating, perhaps even recreate the Forerunner 'Combat Skin', but for now this was the best they could do. The Forerunner plate showed its unique influence on the suit; the Mk. VIII was more angled and linear than previous versions. Sections of Prefect plate were also grafted into the already existing titanium nano-composite bodysuit, adding further reinforcing and protection.

But with the Mk. VIII being the latest piece of MJOLNIR, some major improvements were made to other areas. The hydrostatic gel layer has been beefed up due to the Prefect plate being less bulky and heavy, allowing more space for under layers. Delves into refining the reactive metal liquid crystal layer that was sandwiched between the external armor and internal padding had been positive, increasing the average Spartan reaction times by a minimal twelve percent. The immensely complex molecular memory structure woven into the metal crystal layer has been upgraded to accommodate Fifth Generation smart AI's, and now provides an option for AI's to actively transfer in and out of the suit without the need for a removal of the data chip from the helmet. Also embedded all over the armor were nanobots that would perform minor repairs to the superstructure and passively upgrade software whenever the suit was put into stasis. Lastly, a new hybrid cold fusion-plasma reactor powered the whole suit, giving the Mk. VIII a remarkable increase in available power.

With the addition of Prefect plates, the Mk. VIII had proven more expensive and complicated to manufacture that any armor system in UNSC history, which was why there was only one in existence. When the question arose on who exactly to give the suit to, the answer was unanimous.

With the new Mk. VIII, John was stronger, quicker, and more durable than he had ever been before. When compared to the Mk. VII's that the rest of the Spartan-II's of Blue Team used, John had just barely lost to Kelly, the fasted human alive. He usually lost by a second or two, but this time it was only by milliseconds. When put alongside the GEN2 MJOLNIR variations that the Spartan- IIIs and VI's utilized, there wasn't even a contest.

As the Spartan reached his weapons locker, he typed in the code to unlock it and the door popped open. He reached his hand in and withdrew the weapon inside.

Another product R&D had spun out was the weapon he was now holding in his hands. The X-ACS, or Expiremental Adaptive Combat System, was the absolute cutting-edge when it came to Forerunner-influenced UNSC weapons systems. With a bullpup design that placed the trigger and main hand grip near the stock of the rifle, it was a lot like other UNSC rifles. However, that is where the similarities ended. The X-ACS had a sharply angular, yet slightly bulky frame that looked robust and deadly. In a way, it was strongly reminiscent of the Promethean light rifle. It wasn't as long as said rifle though, with roughly the same dimensions of a standard Assault Rifle.

Other than its aesthetically different design, what really set the X-ACS apart was the ammunition it fired, and the way that it did so. This new weapon was one of the few in the UNSC arsenal to have abandoned the tried and true chemical propellant ammunition system. After months of thorough reverse-engineering, UNSC scientists had managed to figure out how to recreate the process in which hardlight projectiles were formed. They had figured out that the "magazines" that had to be inserted into Promethean weapons didn't contain any sort of ammunition. In fact, they were mini-energy sources that powered an internal manufacturing plant, which then produced the hard light rounds. While scientists had not been able to recreate the method at which the rounds were fired in Promethan weapons, they were able to reconstruct a version of the internal manufacturing plant. In a brilliant series of ideas, scientists had done away with the mini-energy magazines that powered the plant, instead seeking a more constant source of energy. They had found this in the form of the fusion reactors that powered Spartan MJOLNIR armor, and the energy was transferred from the suits to the rifle through micro-conduits in both the gloves and the rifle grip. While this insured an almost unlimited source of ammunition, it also restricted the use of the rifle to Spartan's only, at least for now.

Also, the X-ACS was the first UNSC infantry rifle to utilize magnetic rail technology. The 'barrel' of the rifle were actually a pair of magnetic metallic rails that used two sliding contacts to permit a large electric current to pass through the projectile. This current interacted with the strong magnetic fields generated by the rails to accelerate said projectile to hypersonic velocities. While this technology had already been utilized, the heavy Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine-920 being the first example, the X-ACS was the first to reduce it to a level small enough to be adapted for infantry combat rifles. Like the hard light round manufacturing plant, the magnetic coils in the barrel drew their power from the Spartan's suit as well.

What really made the X-ACS remarkable though, was its adaptability. A small computer controlled both the hard light manufacturing plant and the charge of the magnetic coils, and commands could be inputted to change both the caliber of the round and the amount of charge in the coils. This feature is what gave the X-ACS its adaptability, as the user could tailor the size of the round they wanted to fire, and the rate at which they wanted to do so. However, this system was not without its limitations. The larger the round, the more energy needed to propel it through the coil, and vice versa. In this way it functioned much like a normal rifle, in that the heavier the round, the lower rate of fire, and the lighter the round, the higher rate of fire. For example, the X-ACS could fire what was equivalent to a 14.5x114mm caliber bullet every three seconds, while it could fire 9mm equivalent rounds at a blistering 1600 rpm.

Initial tests were phenomenal. At every possible caliber, the unique properties of the hard light rounds and the incredible velocities provided by the magnetic coils resulted in an outperformance of every single UNSC rifle in terms of effective range, armor penetration, and accuracy and sheer stopping power. By all who had seen it in action, the X-ACS had been deemed 'revolutionary.' The tactical implications of having a weapon that could perform almost any role, form rapid suppressive fire, three-round bursts, hard-hitting semi-automatic sniper fire, and everything in between, were enormous. It also would cut down exponentially on the logistical side of things. Gone was the need for millions of rounds of different chemical ammunition, replaced by self-manufacturing hard light rounds. Troops would also no longer have to carry different weapons for different roles, they had one platform that could perform in all situations. While the X-ACS were currently limited to Spartan use, adaptions were being made for mainline troops who didn't have MJOLNIR by instead using mini-energy sources, much like the Promethean weapons 'magazines.'

For a solider like John, who was extremely good at everything but not perfect at one thing, the rifle was a dream come true. After attaching the X-ACS to the magnetic clamps on his back, he reached in and grabbed a venerable Magnum sidearm, snapping it and a few magazines onto magnets on his right hip.

Now fully armed to the specifications Lasky had requested, he made his way to an elevator that would take him to the deck that the Admiral's personal hangar was on.

As he was about to step into the elevator, he saw another Spartan coming his way, clad in light blue Mk. VII MJOLNIR. His HUD automatically tagged him as Major Carter, the commanding officer of all Spartans aboard the _Infinity_, which meant the Chief as well.

"Sir!" he said, snapping off a crisp salute.

"Master Chief." Carter replied, returning the salute. "The Mk. VIII looks good on you. Ready for another First Contact?" he said with an air of lightheartedness that belied the situation.

"Yes sir." replied John. In the years that he had gotten to know and serve under Carter, he had grown to immensely respect his capabilities not only as a Spartan, but also as a strategist. He had proven time and time again that if you told Carter's Spartans to do something, they would do it in a more effective or destructive way than any other infantry branch in the UNSC. He was a born leader, and he inspired confidence and bravery in everyone around him, Spartan or not. The fact that he had managed to get his entire squad off of the hellhole that Reach had become, alive and functional, when the Covenant attacked was testament enough to his skill as a leader, and was certainly more than John could say about himself. A brief flash of memory, a list of names in his HUD listed as MIA before the real mission had even begun all of those years ago still haunted him to this day. Reach had for all intense and purposes ended the Spartan IIs an effective fighting unit. Only 11 were left of his original family, and every time he thought about it the wound felt as raw as when it first happened. Some things just didn't heal no matter how much time passed.

But that was the past. And Sierra-117 was a man who remembered the past but didn't dwell on it.

Ever since Carter had succeeded Commander Palmer as the Spartan compliments CO, The Master Chief had been happy to follow him. Both in the way that he was better working in a small unit, preferably with his fellow Spartans of Blue Team, but also in gratitude for someone else to shoulder the responsibility of command.

Carter commanded, and the Master Chief as his senior Non-Commissioned officer and right hand, lead those men and supervised their training. As a result the Spartans and their augmented forces aboard the Infinity had reached unprecedented levels of skill thanks to Blue Teams advanced training regimen.

But to the Master Chief they were still only….acceptable.

The Master Chief sighed. He had wished to acquire Grey team from the Fort Carson training grounds so they could impart their skills onto the IIIs and IVs of Infinity's Spartan compliment, but unfortunately for him they had taken over all aspects of Spartan training back in the Sol system, and the next batch of Spartans were expected to come online within the month. John couldn't help but smirk at the irony of the situation. Adrianna, Jai and Mike had _never_ fit the mold of the model Spartan.

Their specialty had been improvisation and adaptation to an ever changing battlefield, rather than strict adherence to mission protocol and parameters like the rest of their brothers and sisters had been. They were free thinkers and quick to adapt and exploit new tactical and strategic opportunities with minimal command oversight. Behind enemy lines they had caused unrivaled_ havoc_ on the Covenant logistical support base and provided the UNSC a wealth of valuable strategic information that had helped turn the tide of the war.

Now it was hoped they would impart that kind of critical thinking and improvisation onto the next batch of Spartans. Personally, John couldn't wait to see the results.

The two Spartans spent the rest of the ride in silence, and the audio amplifiers in John's helmet picked up the argument before the doors even opened.

"...hell did you think you were doing! Charging up your lateral plasma lines!"

"I was taking the actions I deemed necessary to protect my crew! You saw how close those reinforcements arrived to our ship!"

"If you had fired, you would have ignited a shooting war that could have killed all of us! Not even the _Shadow of Intent_ can stand up to a hundred ships at once."

"You don't_ command _me Admiral, the _Intent_ is my ship, and I will do with it as I please."

Carter and the Chief walked out into the hangar bay to witness a full-fledged argument between Admiral Lasky and the Arbiter. Lasky was glaring up at the Arbiter, who had his neck bend down and his mandibles spread.

"Are you that blind that you don't understand what's going on? We're stranded! Cut off from both the UNSC and your Separatists, we need to handle this situation with care."

"Was you putting the _Infinity_ in my direct line of fire _handling the situation with care_?"

From the back of the hangar boomed a surprisingly quiet yet firm voice interceded. "With respect sir, Arbiter, this isn't helping. We are moments away from meeting this Systems Alliance's delegation. We need to work out our own game plan before we proceed."

Lasky and the Arbiter ceased their bickering momentarily and turned to the source of the noise, only to find Captain Dare striding up to them in her all-black ONI dress uniform. She looked immaculate, blonde hair tied up in a loose bun, uniform crisply pressed, and black dress shoes polished to a gleam. Beautiful, yet at the same time strangely dangerous looking. She stepped in between Lasky and the Arbiter and gently eased them away from each other.

"If we're going to establish any type of positive image, we need to present a strong, unified front to this 'Systems Alliance'. You two going at each other's throats like Jihralanhe only serves to make us look broken, divided, and weak. It makes us vulnerable, something we can't afford. But if we look united in our efforts, we can and will survive. Divided they could isolate us and destroy us piecemeal. Now I know that it's not true, but the more we all look like perfect allies, the better." Dare spoke firmly and with a quiet conviction that commanded respect and held the attention of the men around her. Realizing the sense in her words, both the Arbiter and Lasky backed down.

Just now noticing the two Spartans standing idly to the side, Lasky said, "Good, you're here. Roland has just informed me that a corvette has arrived in the designated meeting space. They're flashing their running lights, so I guess that's our signal. Chief, grab Cortana and let's get this show on the road."

Lasky, Dare, the Arbiter, and Carter made their way to a waiting Pelican, while the Chief strode towards a holopedestal near the corner of the hangar.

"Cortana?"

On the pedestal, the small figure of a woman materialized into view. Lines of code ran down her purple-blue figure, and a large smile played across her lips. The AI tilted her head, chin length hair bobbing in response. "I'm here Chief."

"Ready to get back to work?" From the back of his helmet, John withdrew an empty data chip and held it near the pedestal. Cortana reached out and 'touched' it, disappearing form the pedestal while the chips empty core turned an electrical purple. Chief inserted the chip back into his helmet, and felt the now uniquely soothing sensation of a momentary chill running through his body.

Inside his internal helmet speakers, a playful voice answered him.

"Are you kidding? I've been ready since this whole thing began. Bickering with Roland over system resources is not fun, let me tell you. He's a snarky little thing, and he thinks he's almost as smart as I am. It keeps our dialogue _lively_."

The Other AI's avatar popped up on the pedastol with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face, just as Cortana 'jumped' into the Chiefs armor. "I'm _flattered_ that you think so highly of me. Try not to start a war while your out there."

Cortana replied through the Chief's loudspeakers "Well, no promises. But it's good to have goals."

* * *

**Systems Alliance Headquarters, London**

**March 1****st****, 2186**

"What you are suggesting us to do is quiet extreme Admiral Anderson."

"What I'm _suggesting_, is to listen to the facts, and you'll see that I'm just as extreme as I need to be." Anderson said, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. "One. There are twelve ships the like we have never seen before in orbit above Earth. Two are over five kilometers, and _none have any trace of Element Zero_."

"We've all read the report from Admiral Hackett, we are well informed of the situat - " began one of the Admirals before Anderson cut him off.

"Two, we've lost contact with two of our most outermost colonies, and the four ships sent to investigate haven't reported back in three days."

The same Admiral began to speak again, sighing in exasperation. "Those colonies _chose_ to isolate themselves from the protection of the Alliance, they knew the risks."

"But what about the crews aboard those four warships? Are we just going to ignore them too?" shot a female Admiral from across the room. She then motioned to Anderson to continue.

"Three, you have one of Humanity's greatest heros locked up not two hundred feet away!" he concluded.

"Our imprisonment of Shepard is fully justified. The Hegemony still wants his head on a plate for what he did at the Alpha Relay."

Anderson scoffed. "Don't act like you care about the fate of a few hundred thousand Batarians Admiral Jorgensen."

Jorgensen bared his teeth at Anderson. "That's not what it's about. Shepard willingly worked with Cerberus, a sworn enemy of the Alliance, acting against both our orders and those of the Council. He's a rebel Anderson, a _rogue_. The Alliance can't trust him!."

Anderson's mouth dropped. "You can't trust him? You can't trust him?! You can't trust the hero of the Skyllian Blitz, the savior of Elysium who singlehandedly held off hundreds of terrorists to allow hundreds more Alliance civilians to escape? You can't trust one of the highest scoring N7 graduates in the history of the program? You can't trust the first human Specter, the only one who recognized the threat of Saren and Sovereign, and the savior of the Council?"

"Shepard broke a dozen different regulations taking the SR-1! He committed treason, and you were an accomplice!" Jorgensen shouted.

"Dammit Jorgensen, this isn't about the regulations!" growled Anderson, pointing a finger as the bald human high Admiral. "The Reapers are coming back! You're telling me it's not coincidental that these unknown ships appeared at the _exact_ time the task force sent to ascertain the situation of the two dark colonies was declared MIA. And what's more, you're telling me you don't trust the only human who has put his life on the line again and again to fight the Reapers?"

Jorgensen rolled his eyes. "It always comes back to the Reapers with you Anderson. You're obsession with mythological death machines is not welcome in this chamber."

"They're the real threat here, whether you refuse to believe it or not." said Anderson as convictingly as he could.

"Enough about the Reaper's Anderson, get to the point. Why should we release Shepard? So he can go out on another goose chase for some evil AI's hell bent on 'harvesting the galaxy'?" questioned Jorgensen.

"No." said Anderson. The Alliance Admiral stood a little straighter and placed his hands behind his back. "I want Shepard representing Humanity during the meeting, alongside Admiral Hackett and myself."

Jorgensen rubbed his eyes. "And why do you say that?"

"As much as you may not want to admit it, Shepard represents the best of Humanity. He's tough, charismatic, and well-liked. The man is a bloody hero for God's sake, the kid with the troubled past who managed to do incredible good. Shepard's a people person, he has an ability to make people willing to talk unlike anything I've ever seen. He's a superb negotiator in his own way, and a natural leader. You know as well as I do how he managed to get the loyalty of almost a dozen completely different individuals, enough so that they followed him into hell through the Omega Four. He's a perfect fit for a First Contact coordinator. Besides, it's his ship we're taking to the rendezvous."

"The SR-2 is an Alliance vessel now, and we can use her however we please." said Jorgensen.

"The Normandy is as much a part of Shepard as his shooting arm, and he knows the ship better than anyone in the galaxy."

Jorgensen looked around the room of councilors, met by angry eyes from some, determined eyes from others, and apathetic eyes from a few. He rubbed his temples and said, "Fine. We will hold a vote." Jorgensen typed a few commands onto a datapad.

"All in favor of granting Commander John Shepard temporary reinstatement, type your vote in your datapads."

Throughout the room, councilors typed in their vote, and Jorgensen's datapad dinged when the results were in. He looked up to Anderson, back to his datapad, than at Anderson again. He frowned, saying with the least amount of emotion he could, "Congratulations Admiral, your request has been approved. An MP will show you to Shepard's cell. Get the Normandy to the meeting location as soon as possible Admiral, the sooner this is over the sooner we will now what the hell is going on. Dismissed."

"Thank you Councilor." Anderson said before spinning on his heels and striding out the door. As he crossed the threshold into the bustling lobby, he spotted a dark-haired man in standard Alliance fatigues walking towards him.

"Admiral Anderson." he greeted, falling into step besides Anderson.

"Major Alenko." replied Anderson. "What brings you to Alliance command today? I thought you were still on shore leave?"

Alenko rolled his eyed. "_Emergency Budget Meeting_." he said sarcastically. "You know Admiral, I appreciate you promoting me and all, but if I had known the amount of meetings and paperwork I would have to go through I would have respectively declined."

Anderson gave a slight chuckle, which Alenko returned. "Get used to it Major." he playfully said.

"I never thought I'd be saying it, but I'm jealous of Lieutenant Williams. I bet she doesn't spend _nearly_ as much time behind a desk as I do."

Alenko turned his shoulder and deftly dodged a hurrying intern who wasn't looking where she was going, then he asked "So where are you headed Admiral? I notice you've got some purpose in your steps."

"The brig." he answered.

"The brig? But the only person there is... wait a second, I'm not about to be involved in another jailbreak, am I?"

Anderson snorted. "No Major, Udina's off world, so who would I punch in the face if I was? Shepard's been temporarily reinstated by the Admiralty Board."

The two stopped by a locker, and Anderson pressed a few keys, withdrawing a large bag. They continued walking.

"Reinstated? Lemme guess, it's because of those mystery ships isn't it?" Alenko asked.

Anderson nodded. "Commander Shepard will be accompanying Admiral Hackett and I as the delegates for the Systems Alliance." They got to a door guarded by a burly looking Hispanic man in black fatigue pants and a grey Alliance Special Forces shirt.

As they approached, Anderson turned to Alenko. "And you're coming with us Major."

Alenko looked confused. "Me sir?"

"Yes, we're going into this relatively blind, so I want people I trust guarding our backs. That means you, and that means Lieutenant Williams. Last I heard she was a couple blocks away at the Ordinance Testing Facility. Find her, tell her she's part of the security detail, and report to the Normandy at dry dock as soon as possible. We'll be departing for the meeting location as soon as we can."

Alenko was thrilled. This would be his first real mission since the disaster at Virmire. Since he had been left behind…

He'd barely made it to minimal safe distance from the blast wave. It had taken all his strength just to do it. He'd been lucky to find some hard cover that shielded him from the worst of the fallout and EMP blast…but it had still fried his electronics, and his L2-implants. How he had survived that was a mystery no one had been able to solve. How he had been able to survive all alone on that planet for over _2 years_ was another. Until, that is, he had been rescued by a scout group from Clan Urdinot looking to salvage anything they could from Sarens Genophage cure.

He had been made an honorary member of clan Urdinot on the spot by Wrex himself for his tenacious survival on that hostile world for two years, then was immediately Evac'd back to Alliance space. He remembered on the jump back Wrex had told him, "Anyone who could survive a nuke to the face and then two years of isolation was Krogan enough for him."

That had been six months ago. Since his return to Alliance custody his days had been filled with psych evaluations, skin grafts, surgeries, receiving new biotic implants, and enough physical therapy to put him in tip top shape and finally passing all of his recertifications and requalifications. Despite the numerous concerns over his mental stability and 'quirky' behavior, he had been cleared for duty _reluctantly_ only last week with some modest pressure from Admiral Anderson.

"Can do Admiral. I'll grab Wilson and see you at the Normandy." replied Alenko, with a smile while saluting then quickly striding away.

Anderson blinked…Wilson? Anderson thought it over before he decided it was best not to know and continued on. He sure hoped he hadn't made a mistake in getting Alenko reinstated….

"The Commander's ready to see you." said the guard at the door. He pressed a button and the door slid open with a _hiss_. Anderson stepped in and saw the Commander sitting at a chair reading a data tablet.

Alerted by the opening door and Anderson in his peripheral vision, Shepard stood out of his chair and gave a warm smile to the Admiral.

"Anderson!" he exclaimed warmly, stepping forwards and firmly shaking hands with Anderson. "It's good to see you sir. What brings you by?"

He tossed Shepard a bag, which Shepard caught in both hands. He opened the bag and found that inside were Alliance Dress Blues. _His _Dress Blues. Shepard looked up to Anderson, eyebrows raised.

"Get dressed, and make it quick." Anderson simply said.

Shepard nodded, and began the process of changing.

"I'll give you the quick version." began Anderson. "Approximately an hour ago, twelve ships of unknown origin and capability just _appeared_ a couple hundred thousand kilometers. We don't know how they got here, or why they're here, but we do know that two of the ships are _massive_."

"How massive?" asked Shepard, just finishing buttoning up his pants.

"Five and a half kilometers."

Shepard whistled in appreciation and paused, a black sock halfway on his left foot. "Five and a half kilometers?"

"Yeah. And get this. All twelve of the ships are showing almost non-existent eezo readings."

Shepard was now in the process of shrugging on his tunic. "So who are they?"

"We don't know. After barely avoiding a full-on battle, Hackett and the _Kilimanjaro _managed to briefly establish contact, but it was pretty spotty. Two things they did manage to learn was that these unknowns spoke English. Not translated English, but real, honest-to-god English. Secondly, they seem to be as interested in avoiding a conflict as we are. Whether that's because we outnumber them by almost a hundred ships, or the fact that they appeared dead in the water when they first arrived, we don't know. But we _do _know that we appear to be dealing with some sort of military organization, evidenced by someone calling himself 'Admiral Lasky' on the other side of the comm."

The Commander nodded his head slowly. He finished buttoning up his shirt, then looked up to Anderson, gesturing to his uniform. "So what's this about?"

"Shepard, you're accompanying Admiral Hackett and I as the delegated for the Systems Alliance. We are using the Normandy as the meeting grounds, as the refits to its weapons systems haven't been completed yet. If worse comes to worse, we can always engage the stealth systems and get the hell out of there. But I want you there Shepard. It's your ship, I trust you, and I want you there. You're the best Humanity has to offer." said Anderson.

Shepard stood a little bit straighter upon hearing that. "I would be honored to represent the Alliance sir. But last time I checked, I was still in Alliance custody."

Anderson smiled and withdrew something from his pocket, then tossed it at Shepard.

He caught it with one hand, feeling the familiar cold metal of dogtags. Lieutenant Commander Shepard, John. _His _dogtags.

"Consider yourself reinstated."

* * *

**Hope I didn't bore you guys too much with all the tech-talk. As for Cortana and Noble surviving, I'll get to that in later chapters. Now just to clarify, this story is AU, or Alternate Universe. That means that both the Halo and Mass Effect sides of the story haven't and will not exactly conform to canon**

**Feel free to leave a review!**


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